Venom
by thisisnotongoogleanymore
Summary: CHECK AUTHORS NOTE. EDITED JULY 9th 08.
1. Prologue

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**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

Prologue

_**August 8, 1917, 1:45AM, Central, Amestris**_

Alphonse could feel his heart pound nervously in his chest, the beads of sweat run down his face as he held his breath, listening to the foot steps grow quiet, and then go out of range completely. He let out a sigh of relief and peeked out from behind the wall. No one. Good. He got to work, clapping his gloved hands together and pressed them onto the side of the building. The Alchemic energy crackled in the stiflingly muggy night air and he prayed both that no one would see the blue glow and that there was no one on the other side.

The cement wall melted and shifted, making a small arc just big enough for him to duck under, and into the library. He hurried through, closed the hole and turned around. He immediately regretted what he was doing.

_'What was I thinking?'_ he thought to himself, surrounded by hundreds of book shelves. _'I should've just asked Mr. Mustang for permission!'_

Alphonse shook his head to calm down and pulled a flashlight out of his pocket. It was too late to go back now and he doubted he would get another opportunity to look around the Central Military Library again. He flicked on the flashlight and walked hastily down the rows of bookshelves, careful to make his footsteps as quiet as possible and keep the beam of light on the labels on the bookcases.

It took him quicker to reach the Military Record's section than he expected and it was a lot larger than he expected as well. But all he had to do was find the files that said 'Full Metal' and get out as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes in to his search, Alphonse was beginning to think the task was easier said than done. He ran a hand through his damp hair and exhaled. It wasn't there. He had looked through the 'F's at least ten times and 'Full Metal' just _wasn't_ there. Even an empty space where it should have been gave him more than enough proof. He stretched, his back cracking, then froze, mid-stretch, his eyes wide. He heard footsteps. He immediately turned off the flashlight and pressed himself against the end of the bookcase, holding his breath.

"Alphonse Elric... c'mon out..."

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his heart beat quicken. He was caught. But not without a fight.

He clenched his hands into fists and jumped out from his hiding place, ready to fight, but lowered his guard in confusion. There, standing in the middle of the aisle, was a very... strange looking man. From little light, Alphonse couldn't tell what color hair he had, but it was dark and in very long strands. The man was tall, quite pale, bony and wore nothing more than a tight fitting tank top and what looked like a skort, but even in the dark, Alphonse could see piercing violet eyes staring at him.

"Who are you?" Alphonse demanded wearily, settling back into his fighting stance.

"You were looking for this weren't you," the man waved a folder in the air that Alphonse hadn't noticed he was holding. "Full Metal's records of where he's been, what he's done... none of this will help you."

Suddenly, the folder was shredded up paper on the floor. Alphonse glared.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I'm saying that a bunch of worthless information won't help you get your brother back."

Alphonse winced at the man's harsh voice, but didn't back down as the man walked toward him. He was soon just inches from Alphonse, but the youngest Elric didn't budge.

"What's your name? What do you want?" Alphonse growled, clenching his fists tighter.

The man didn't answer, but grinned, leaning down so that his nose was just mere millimeters away from Alphonse's. He shuddered. The man's eyes were frightening, to say the least.

"I know how to get your brother back," he murmured, his eyes remaining emotionless, but his grin stretched wider. "He isn't dead, just... lost in a strange place he doesn't understand. I was with him."

Alphonse was sure the man was able to hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"I'll need your help to get him out of there and back here, but it's going to require some Equivalent Exchange on your part if we're going to do this."

Alphonse found himself nodding, suddenly desperate. It was the closest lead he had gotten... and even though he didn't necessarily trust this strange man, he felt drawn to him. The man nodded once and stepped back, holding out a hand. Alphonse looked at it, then back at the man, and then realized he was to shake it. He took it and shivered, feeling ice cold skin, even through his gloves.

"I'll enjoy working with you, Alphonse Elric," the man said simply, grinning once more. "The name's Envy, by the way."

_**September 2, 1917, 3:30AM, Central, Amestris**_

It was time, and Alphonse glanced apprehensively at Greed as he strapped the leather belts tightly around his wrists and ankles, tying him to the bed. Clara sitting at the head of the bed, her icy, but gentle hands running through his bangs. He knew that she was Lust now; her emotionless eyes would give it away in a second, but he still thought Clara suited her much better.

"We're all set," Greed muttered in his monotone voice and Alphonse felt his heart jump in fear, even though he knew he was in good hands.

Envy padded into view and smirked down at him, the green haired teen's way of comfort. Alphonse smiled weakly back, unable to hide the fact he was scared. He swallowed and straightened his head, staring into Clara's green eyes. She ran her hand through his hair one last time before holding his head steady with a hard grip. Now he was more than scared, and terrified didn't seem to describe what he was feeling. But there was no backing down now. He wouldn't, no matter what.

"You'll be seeing your brother soon, Elric," Envy said and Alphonse screamed in agony.

_**September 2, 1923, Time Unknown, Munich, Germany**_

He had forgotten what time it was long ago, but he guessed it was sometime after midnight. The sky was cloudless, thousands of tiny stars twinkling in the black abyss. Somewhere behind him, the moon was full, pouring a dim light into the small clearing, painting the evergreen trees in a silvery glow. The young man lay in the damp grass that had ruined his suit from the moisture. His arms were held beneath his head, half-lidded eyes emotionless as he stared up at the sky. A gentle breeze, unseasonably cool for early-September, lifted his long, blond bangs off of his face, fluttering against his cheek.

"Even the stars are different here," he murmured to himself, letting his heavy eyelids close for a moment, before searching the sky once more.

Alfons's funeral had been a particularly beautiful one; his wealthy, but extremely kind parents honoring their son with a grand ceremony. Edward, amongst many other of Alfons's colleagues, sat near the back of the Cathedral, barely able to hear what the priest was saying, but it didn't matter. Edward wasn't paying all that much attention anyway - and he was sure half of it was a load of crap; that's all that ever came out their mouths.

His mind had wandered after seeing the body of his close friend, pale and peaceful looking. Edward would never admit it out loud, but it scared him. His close friend and roommate always had a different expression on his face, whether it was of joy, frustration or of anger, his face was never the same. And to see Alfons so... frozen, his pale lips curved down ever-so-slightly, his brow relaxed... it wasn't right.

Oh yes, that and the fact that Alfons just happened to look exactly like Edward's little brother, his only family, his _life_. Edward clenched his fists underneath his head and his eyes tightened. Even the thought of attending Alphonse's funeral sent his confidence spiraling downwards, panic over coming him. What if the transmutation never worked? What if Alphonse was _dead?_ Edward exhaled shakily and forced himself to think of something other than the fact Alphonse could be dead. He had already promised to himself - and his father - that he would push that suggestion out of his mind. He just hoped that Alphonse was okay.

As he mulled his long train of thoughts over again, he felt guilty. Alfons had been the only person on this side of the Gate that Edward had ever let himself get close to. But now that Alfons was dead, he knew he was drawn to the scientist because he looked like Edward's Alphonse.

A strange tingling feeling up his spine made Edward come back to reality, staring back at the stars again. A shooting star shot across the sky and his eyes followed, the feeling of hundreds of butterflies fluttering in his abdomen. He remembered when Alfons had once told him that seeing a shooting star was considered good luck and how people on Earth's side of the Gate often wished on them. _"All it is, is a meteoroid passing through the Earth's atmosphere, but it's still fun to play along,"_ Alfons explained and then closed his eyes, making a wish.

Edward stared at the spot where the fiery light had disappeared, yearning to fly into that black nothingness, use rockets to get him back home. But as he thought his theory over, it suddenly didn't sound all that easy. He had gotten no where in his research and he was starting to lose hope, and consciousness, lack of sleep over coming him. He closed his eyes, his head lolling to the side as he slipped into dream-land.

_'...I wish I could go home...'_


	2. Eqivalent Exchange Mumbo Jumbo

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**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

1. _For once in her life Equivalent Exchange actually meant more than some Alchemy mumbo-jumbo._

_**September 16, 1917, 7:10AM, Central, Amestris**_

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross stepped out of her apartment, holding an umbrella high over her head. She looked up at the dark clouds that were looming over Central, spilling cats and dogs on the city for the last two days and frowned. She never liked rain, it made her feel more depressed than she wished to be. But a little water wouldn't stop her on her short walk to work, so she set off, her boots thankfully keeping her feet dry.

Central didn't change much over the past two years, older buildings torn down for new ones and of course the population grew in a few numbers, but that was to be expected. Maria paused at a corner, deciding whether to keep straight, her normal route, or to take a left, onto Brunswick, a shifty street and arrive at the Military HQ in half the time. She turned left, not wanting to spend that much time in the wet weather. Besides, she had a gun if someone tried to mug her.

Suddenly, as she made her way down the surprisingly empty street, she picked up a small, barely audible voice to her right and behind her. She stopped abruptly, her free hand going to her gun holster. She held her breath, listening carefully, the rain hammering against her umbrella loudly, drilling into the cobblestone road, making it hard to hear.

"...h...ey..."

She swallowed and drew her gun, turning in the direction of the voice, her dark eyes sweeping the empty, tall grassed area quickly. She remembered a building there at one point, but since then it had grown in.

"...help..."

She definitely heard that one loud and clear. She moved closer, placing her umbrella on the broken side walk, holding her gun in front of her, pointing it at the grass and started in. The plant was nearly up to her waist and thick, hard to see through.

"Hello? Is there someone in there?" She called.

"Over here,"

The voice was louder that time and coming from right in front of her. That's when she saw a black shoe. She pursed her lips and stopped.

"Sir, do you have any weapons on you?"

"No," the man answered, sounding annoyed. The voice was slightly familiar, but Maria couldn't put a finger on the identity. "I'm kind of stuck here; can you give me hand already?"

She stepped forward, brushing the grass back with one hand, gun tightly clenched in the other, when she saw him. Her eyes widened and she gasped, her hand going slack, the gun slipping through her fingers. The 'man' was laying, back down in the grass wearing a formal suit that was now completely drenched, his right arm twisted and mangled. His left leg seemed to be just as bad, if not worse. He stopped struggling and looked up at her through long, muddy blond bangs with golden eyes. He looked just as surprised as she was feeling.

"E-Edward?!"

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_**August 26, 1917, 6:55AM, Central, Amestris**_

Winry nibbled thoughtfully on her toast and flipped through the Central Times. She was looking for an article that interested her when the sound of a door opening caught her attention. She looked up to see Alphonse coming from his room and she stood, her eyes darting immediately to the red coat around his shoulders and the suit case in his right hand. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and he smiled weakly.

"You're leaving," it was a statement, not a question, and Alphonse flinched at her harsh tone.

"Sorry, Winry," he mumbled, closing his door as he walked into the work shop. "I know you don't like it when I leave."

Winry's frown deepened and she sighed, giving into the guilt in the thirteen year olds voice. She sat back down, took the piece of toast she had been eating off her plate and shoved the rest towards him.

"You're in a rush - I know," she growled when Alphonse protested. "At least eat _something_ before you leave this time."

"I'm sorry Winry, but I have to get going," he said sadly, wrapping the buttery bread into a napkin, but he smiled reassuringly.

He headed towards the door and Winry followed, not letting him out of her sight. "I'll eat and walk at the same time." He added when she glared at him.

"Well, I guess I should anticipate this from an Elric; always leaving unexpectedly," Winry grumbled, but hugged him tightly anyway.

Alphonse gave a half-smile and walked out, leaving Winry to stand alone in her small apartment, staring at the spot he once stood.

--

_**September 16, 1917, 6:55AM, Central, Amestris**_

Winry nibbled thoughtfully on her toast and flipped through the Central Times. She was looking for an article that interested her when a bright flash of lightning and a crack of thunder made her jump. She pressed a hand to her chest and chuckled slightly at her cowardliness, but her laughter came to a stop when she had the familiar feeling of déjà vu wash over her.

Her gaze wandered over to Alphonse's room, where the wooden door hadn't been open for three weeks - the last time she had seen him. Winry was used to Alphonse leaving; he rarely stayed with her for over a week. Usually he would return in two or three days, but never had he ever left for three _weeks_, the last stretch she had gone without seeing him for that long had been when he was training with Izumi.

The thought brought a twist of worry and sorrow into her stomach. Izumi's illness had taken a turn for the worse, just a few months into Alphonse's training, leaving her stuck in bed. Another month passed, and sadly, so had she. Around that time was when Alphonse started to live with Winry in her apartment in Central, having no where else to go. The first two weeks, the young Elric was always by her side, following her like her shadow but soon after, he was in his room, his nose in one Alchemy book after the other, leaving only to use the toilet or to eat. It wasn't very long into the new year when Alphonse started his short trips, a suitcase in tow.

Winry sighed. More and more Alphonse was reminding her of Edward, and not only because he was dressed like him. But, she forced herself to push the depressing thoughts out of her mind, nearly forgetting the promise she had made to herself when she first bought her apartment. No longer would she worry endlessly about an Elric, as hard as it was. She now had her own reputation as Amestris's youngest, female Automail mechanic. She would never _brag_ about it - sure she might _mention_ it on an occasion - but she was doing _very_ well money-wise.

She was now running her own shop in downtown Central, her apartment situated on the second floor of the building. She wasn't alone, oh no. She even had an _employee_ - Ran Fan (1), a Xingese girl her age and a wonderful mechanic.

There was suddenly a knock on her door, and she nearly jumped a foot in the air. At the same time she slid out of her seat, a muffled voice came from the other side.

"Miss. Winry, there are two people here to see you," the voice was slightly accented, pronouncing the 'R's and 'I's differently than Amestrisian and she knew right away that it was Ran Fan.

Winry opened the door and smiled warmly at the Xingese girl - who looked not as depressed as usual - before Ran Fan lead the way down the stairs to Winry's shop. The door at the end of the dark stairwell was already open, letting a soft light seep through the opening. Winry heard a woman's hushed, reassuring voice and she smiled as she reached the end. New customers were always a joy to meet.

"What can I do for y-"

Winry's sentence cut off in her throat. The other two stopped whispering and looked up. She closed the staircase door with a 'click' that sounded much louder in the silence than in actuality. She felt the blood leave her face and suddenly she was dizzy as she stared into wide, golden orbs. Ran Fan must have noticed her vertigo, because there was soon a hand underneath Winry's elbow. Her mouth formed words, but nothing came out.

"Winry," she started at his voice, watching tensely as he stood - stumbled - to his feet. "...It's good to see you again."

She shrugged out of Ran Fan's grasp and walked towards him. She reached him sooner than expected and stared up at him. Something was different about Edward, of course, he looked older than when she last saw him; the rest of the baby fat had left his face, showing a sculpted jaw covered in a thin layer of stubble. His hair had gotten longer and was tied back in a pony tail too. ...But that wasn't it. Maybe it was his eyes; even though they still held the same sharp, welcoming glow she remembered, but they looked... haunted.

"...Winry? Are you okay?" He asked tentatively.

And suddenly she was cursing herself as tears burned in her eyes and silent sobs shook her body. She looked down, face in her hands as she desperately tried to control herself.

"Hey, hey!" Edward exclaimed. "Don't cry!"

A pair of hands were placed on her shoulders; one was warm, the other was cold and felt distorted against her. It just made her cry harder, much to her dismay. He was finally back. He was _alive_. Of course, when Colonel Mustang said Edward had died, she would _not_ believe it. She couldn't. They didn't find a body, not even a speck of blood. There wasn't any proof. She convinced herself that Edward was somewhere traveling again, or hiding out somewhere because he did Human Transmutation. But still, in the back of her mind, a small voice echoed over and over to her; _'he's dead, dead, dead'_. Maybe after Alphonse left three weeks earlier, she started to listen to the voice because there wasn't someone else there to tell her, reassure her that they would find him.

Maybe she believed it.

And now that Edward was back... she couldn't stop crying. Out of happiness or fear, she wasn't sure, but she knew that now all of her worry would be placed on Alphonse.

For once in her life Equivalent Exchange actually meant more than some Alchemy mumbo-jumbo.

----

_**September 17, 1917, 2:30AM, Central, Amestris**_

Alphonse stumbled into the dark apartment, his right arm shaking under the pressure as he held tightly onto the door knob, fearing he would fall over. As quietly as he could, he closed the door, not wanting to wake Winry. He leaned against it, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth as another pain filled tremor shook his body, starting in his chest and pulsing though the rest of him.

"C'mon Elric," someone whispered, and an icy cold hand was softly placed on his shoulder, making him jump.

Alphonse let go of the door frame and walked in the direction of his room, fingers still holding lightly on his arm. He didn't get very far before a particularly mind numbing sting caught him by surprise. He gasped, grabbing onto the couch before his shaking legs fell out from underneath him. Gentle hands guided him to the floor and he immediately doubled over, trying no to make a sound, but a faint whimper escaped his lips anyway.

Again, the pain dulled out to a throbbing, sooner than expected and he found himself being helped onto the sofa. A pale form knelt in front of him, and he stared into dull, violet eyes.

"You're sleeping here tonight," Alphonse tried to sit up again, but was pushed down. "Here."

Some sort of fabric was shoved into his hands and at first he thought it was a blanket, but as he felt it over, he realized it was his brother's old jacket. He smiled and held it close to his chest, the smell of oil, sweat and something else that smelt very faintly of cinnamon was very comforting.

"Thank you," he whispered as the figure stood and walked towards the door.

"Come stop by sometime this week, even if you and your... _brother_ are catching up. Lust is probably missing you already," a quiet laugh made its way to Alphonse's ears. "Remember, you can't let _anyone_ see it. Especially... Edward."

"Thank you again, Envy," Alphonse murmured as he heard the door shut with a small _click_.

He sat there for a moment, listening to his uneven breathing, clutching his brother's red jacket to his chest, like a young child and their security blanket. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, lowering his head onto the throw pillow and bring his legs onto the couch. He curled up into a ball, shutting his eyes tight and holding the jacket close as he tried to keep his pain quiet.

He just hoped his sacrifice, all the agony, everything he gave up... he hoped it was enough.

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A/N: Please Read!

**(1): For those of you who don't read the manga, Ran Fan is a character from it. Since this fic is anime-based, Edward and Alphonse haven't met Ran Fan before and her situation is slightly different from in the manga (it'll be explained in later chapters, don't worry). I will definitely have one or two manga references, so I'm just giving you guys a heads up!**

Wow, thank you all for such awesome reviews! Sorry I didn't get this out earlier, by the way. I had a big ol' project that I had to do over the week end and I also went to a Billy Talent concert last night (which was AWESOME)!

As usual, please R&R, I'll always reply!

--Renneh


	3. Body, Mind and Soul

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**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

2. Body, Mind and Soul_Blood, Tears and Roses_

_**September 16, 1917, 7:40AM, Central, Amestris**_

"Where's Al?"

That was the first thing Edward asked when he finally got Winry to stop crying. They were now upstairs, alone in her apartment.

He watched as she hurried around her kitchen sink as she washed up, his heart pounding in anticipation. She sniffed and drew a deep breath, turning around to face him. She looked better now, but her eyes were still slightly red.

"Where's Alphonse?" He repeated, growing frantic. Lieutenant Ross wouldn't answer any of his questions and he didn't have the energy to physically force it out of Winry.

She smiled at him, but there was unease behind the cheeriness.

"Winry…"

"Alright, alright," she sighed, gesturing to the couch as she walked by him, "You might want to sit down."

"Just give it to me straight. Is he alive or not?" Edward demanded, stubbornly choosing to stand.

"He's alive," Winry answered after a moment. "But..."

"But?" It felt like an anvil was dropped into his stomach.

"He can't remember the time he was in the armor. He can remember everything up until the point you guys tried to bring Trisha back," she paused, but seeing his sour expression, she continued. "Well, Rose didn't tell me everything, but said she found him in that city under Central. He was unconscious, but alive. I came up to Central immediately after Colonel Mustang called me. Al was… well, he was physically fine, but he refused to believe that you were… dead."

"_Dead_?!" Edward exclaimed, cutting her off.

Winry flinched and nodded, "Everyone thought you died to bring Al back. But, if you weren't dead, where were you?"

Edward frowned and shook his head. He wouldn't be able to explain to Winry that he actually _did_ die. Seeing the worry and hurt in her eyes… he couldn't. At least, not yet. He didn't want to relive that event more than once and he would tell her, Al and possibly Mustang at the same time.

"I'll explain later. Sorry, I cut you off there."

"…Right," She stared out the window at the pouring rain as she spoke, refusing to look at him. "So, I took Al back to Resembool. I think he might've been nervous around me, or something, because he barely talked to me at all. I think it was because I was suddenly five years older than him.

"Around two weeks after he came back, he started acting like his old self again, but you could tell he was still troubled. Izumi arrived around that time and he asked to start training with her. He left with her the next day. I didn't get any word from him for another four months or so, until he called to say Izumi was in the hospital. It was right around that time where I got the offer to come up to Central.

"I didn't see him much while Izumi was sick, I think he was looking for you," she glanced back at him and kept on. "It was about a month later when Izumi died… Al was devastated, but he didn't cry at her funeral. He came to live with me after that and he never left my side. But he started acting strangely after a while."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked when she stopped.

She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips, thinking. "He started to take these short day trips and when he came home, he would never speak to me. He'd stay all holed up in his room reading, or doing something related to Alchemy. He did that for about a year. Then he'd start leaving for two or three days at a time."

Edward sat down on the other side of the couch, across from her. She smiled, but not at him.

"About… three weeks ago, he left," she chuckled coldly. "He was trying to sneak out. It was six thirty in the morning, at least. I haven't seen him since."

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, but Edward knew it was only seconds. He let all the information sink in. Izumi died. He knew it would happen, but it still came to a shock. He wished he had been there, at least. He would have to go visit her grave at some point. He sighed and closed his eyes. Alphonse was alive… it worked. Sure, he didn't remember when he was in the armor, but Edward thought it was better that way. He would rather his brother not to remember all the blood shed he witnessed.

"Edward?"

He jumped slightly and opened his eyes, turning his head to Winry. She looked tired – worn out. He knew immediately there was something else and his joy was consumed by fear.

"You don't think… I mean, I'm not an Alchemist, I don't really understand Equivalent Exchange. But, do you think Al might have… sacrificed himself to bring you back..?'

Edward's breath stopped in his chest and he froze. He never thought of that possibility. Surely Alphonse wouldn't have… he didn't know how. Did he? It was true; he didn't have any clue as to how he got back. He just woke up in the grass, his prosthetics all mangled and torn up, as if they went through some sort of pressure. He knew it was because of the Gate, but how? Edward didn't do it himself… so was it possible Alphonse opened the Gate?

"He couldn't have, right? I mean, that would mean he's, d-dead…" Winry was suddenly standing in front of him, her eyes filled with tears. "I should've stopped him! Damnit, Ed! It's my fault, I should've noticed he was doing something suspicious, but I didn't do anything!"

She had been shouting by the end of her confession and she broke down into hysterics, sinking to her knees. Edward slid himself off the couch and sat next to her, wrapping his flesh arm around her shaking shoulders. She immediately cried into his chest and he just rubbed her arm, unable to comfort her as much as he wanted to.

"It isn't your fault, Winry," he muttered quietly and she violently shook her head. "We can call up Mustang to see if anyone's seen Al around, or if they've detected some major Alchemic energy."

Winry's sobs turned quieted down as he spoke. She sniffled and pulled away from him looking down.

"But what if-"

"Hey," Edward cut her off. She glanced up and he smiled as reassuringly as he could. "Al didn't think I was dead, right? So why would he go and try to bring me back if he thought I was alive? Don't worry about it, we'll find him."

The corners of her mouth tugged upward and she laughed quietly as she stood up.

"You're right. Now, let's go get your automail attached before we go see the Colonel." She said, wiping the remaining tears off her face.

Edward watched as she hurried back to the sink to clean up. He was happy she wasn't crying anymore, but he wasn't sure whether the comforting speech was directed towards his friend or himself.

_**September 17, 1917, 8:00AM, Central, Amestris**_

Edward opened his eyes and found himself staring at the ceiling. He blinked in confusion, wondering why he had just dreamt that one event from the day before. He just shook his head and sat up, running a hand through his hair before tying it back.

He sat like that for a minute or so, trying to find the energy to get out of bed. He and Winry had a lot to do. Much to Edward's annoyance, after attaching his automail, he slept for most of the day. When he did wake up, it was near seven in the evening, Winry was busy with her backed up orders and he was _still_ worn out. Once he reached Alphonse's room, he was asleep before he hit the pillow.

Edward let out a sigh and through his legs off the bed. Even though this set of limbs took a toll on him when they were getting attached, he embraced the comfort and ease of Winry's automail. It was no wonder she was famous in the industry.

It was completely silent in the apartment except for Edward's feet as he walked down the hall, and for a moment Edward thought Winry had already gone downstairs. He was wrong though, for as he reached her door, he seen her at her desk, working on a leg.

"Morning," he greeted and she jumped with a squeak, her tools clattering loudly.

"Hey!" She said breathlessly, turning to him with a chuckle. "You're finally awake, I see."

He just smirked and clenched his right hand into a fist and released it. "I think you get better every time."

"You want breakfast, don't you," she replied dryly, arranging her tools back to how they were before.

"If you're making it, sure," he said and he heard her laugh as he walked into the kitchen but suddenly all sound was muted out and he froze on the spot at what he saw.

"_Al_…"

He on the floor, slumped over lifeless, his back against the cupboards. The water was running unattended from the tap and shattered glass in a pool of water was by his side. But that wasn't what worried Edward the most. It was the fact that Alphonse was _unconscious _on his best friend's kitchen floor.

"Al!"

Edward finally regained control of his legs and he rushed forward, falling to his knees in front of his brother. His heart was pounding as he grabbed Alphonse by the shoulders, shaking him roughly, but his eyes remained shut.

"Al! Al, wake up!" Edward ordered, his voice quivering in fear.

Nothing.

"Alphonse, c'mon answer me," he pleaded desperately, loosening his tight grip on his brother's arms.

Again, no response and without the support keeping him up, Alphonse slumped forward, the top of his head colliding with Edward's chest. Edward cursed and as gently as he could, he hoisted his brother into his arms, surprised at how light he was.

"_Winry!_" He shouted, hurrying towards the living room. "Winry, I need some help!"

He carefully placed Alphonse on the couch and suddenly Winry was at his side, pushing him away.

"What happened?" She asked her voice sharp and demanding.

"I just found him in the kitchen. He was already out when I found him," Edward said, peering above her nervously as she bent over Alphonse, checking him over. He had the urge to hit her hand away when she pulled back his eye lids and shined a flashlight in them, but he knew she knew what she was doing, so he didn't.

"Okay, his breathing is a little fast, but it's barely noticeable and he has a strong pulse," She leaned back after a moment, looking more confused than worried, even though both emotions were visible on her face.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked, sitting down at the foot of the couch, his shaking legs unable to support him anymore.

"This happened before, but," she looked up at him, dead serious, "I'm not sure of the exact details, but Al can split his soul and put them in inanimate objects," she paused and he just stared at her, horrified at her words. "Something like this happened before, after Izumi died and he started living with me, he transmuted all of his soul into a little wooden horse. It looked like his body was sleeping, but you couldn't wake him up. Needless to say, I was terrified when I heard his voice come out of a little toy, but he explained it all to me.

"I can't remember it all exactly, but he said when he transmutes part of his soul, he can control the object he put it in and stay conscious at the same time, but he said he stopped doing that after a while because he got dizzy. When he puts his whole soul into something, he passes out, but he's physically fine. Al said he can't control how long his soul can stay in something and that he has roughly a half hour before it come back to him, unless he takes it out himself." Winry grimaced, and looked apologetically at him, "It's really confusing to me. Did I explain it well enough?"

"…That would make sense," Edward muttered after a while. "In ancient Alchemy, they say there's three parts to a human; a body, a mind and a soul. The soul is connected to the body by the mind, kind of like when he was in the armor and the blood seal kept his soul attached to the metal. And the mind is kind of like your brain, I guess, so when Al extracts bits of his soul from his body, it would give him a head ache since his mind is keeping the rest of his soul with his body. But… I would've felt something, even in my sleep, if Al used Alchemy. How could he have transmuted a-anything if he didn't use Alchemy? Maybe he's like this because I screwed up. I mean, he can't even remember 4 years – and it's my fault. I-"

"Edward!" Winry snapped and he immediately shut his mouth. Her hard expression softened and she smiled sympathetically at him. "Edward, Alphonse knows what he's doing. You shouldn't worry about him so much."

She checked Alphonse over one last time, stood and stretched, "Well, I'm late enough as it is, so I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Wait, I… I," Edward strained but the words wouldn't come. He grabbed Winry's wrist as she started towards the door. She turned and looked down at him. _'I'm scared.'_ He nearly said it but his throat clenched up and he dropped her arm. "Actually, it's nothing. Sorry I held you up."

She didn't move, waiting to see if there was anything else and when he didn't answer, she patted Alphonse lightly on the head and walked to the door.

"…If there's any problems, don't hesitate to come and get me or Ran Fan," she said and left, the snap of the door shutting echoed throughout the apartment.

Edward sat still, his eyes wandering over to his little brother, who was still in his sleep-like-state. Edward's protectiveness soon took over and he took the throw blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over Alphonse's still form. He sat back down on the floor in front of the couch,

_'He's changed so much…'_ Edward thought, watching silently as Alphonse's chest slowly rose up and down as he breathed deeply. His hair had grown much longer than he remembered and was now tied at the back, but he still had messy bangs. Edward started to get even more worried as small, but noticeable features stood out as he looked his brother over. Alphonse was pale. Nearly as white as the trim around the edges of his black jacket. There were dark circles under his eyes, looking like purple bruises. He was _extremely_ skinny too. In Edward's opinion, he looked…

_Edward stared, confused and scared as her pale lips moved weakly._

_"He always… used to make… them… for… me…"_

_The clammy grip on Edward's hand slackened __and hazel blue eyes glazed over. _

His automail hand had somehow made its way into Alphonse's. A small smile curved his lips slightly as flesh fingers were tightened around his own and Alphonse shifted, mumbling something inaudible. He squeezed back gently, some of his worry fading away with the small gesture, but…

He was still wondering what the hell happened to his brother over the three years he was in Munich.

------

Alphonse didn't know what was happening. All he could see was a blinding white light, screaming into his eyes and yet at the same time, he could see pictures flashing at an incredible speed, moving so quickly his brain couldn't register what he was seeing. It was all a blur, but he seen his brother in every picture. But it was different, his brother was older and he couldn't remember when his brother looked like that. All the emotions were whirled about, overwhelming him as smiles, tears and blood shot by, and it wouldn't stop. Even if he shut his eyes, it would come through, pounding into his head.

And then it was gone, replaced by a completely different scene. A grassy clearing, scattered with bright flowers. It was surrounded by trees and beyond the trees were snow-capped mountains. There was a gentle breeze that teased the grass and played with the leaves in the trees. Birds were chirping somewhere in the distance and Alphonse nearly became lost in awe, but something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

He turned, in a slight daze, to see a woman standing directly across from him, only a few feet away. She had brown hair that was tied off to the side and she wore a simple purple dress and white apron. She was smiling at him and he wondered why she was so familiar. He stared at her, slightly confused as she spread her folded arms out, as if she were to hug him.

"Alphonse… come here sweetie… it's alright,"

He jumped, immediately recognizing the voice, "…M…om?" He stuttered.

She nodded and beckoned him forward, but even before he could lift his foot, the scenery changed dramatically. The sky turned black like night, but there were no stars. The leaves disintegrated from the trees with a hiss and the flowers wilted. The grass turned black, then melted into red and an awful, irony stench filled the air. He gagged. Blood.

He looked back up to see that his mother had changed as well. Her chestnut hair had darkened to nearly black, looking almost violet. Her skin was as white as snow against her hair and she wore a long, purple dress. But her soft, heart-warming eyes had frozen, turning deep blue and filled with… nothing.

"Mom, what's going on?" Alphonse demanded, his voice shaking.

She just smiled, but this time it was cold and she disappeared. Suddenly, there was a hand around his mouth and hot breath against his neck, accompanied with cool metal on his skin. He was forced to breathe through his nose, the horrid smell of blood filling his senses.

"Alphonse Elric…" a harsh, male voice echoed in his ear, sending a chill up his spine, making him tense. Alphonse just stared across the vast pool of blood where his mother once stood. "So this is what you look like. Just like your _brother._"

His heart was pounding as he squeezed his eyes shut as the knife was presser harder against his neck. He whimpered in fear, feeling no pain, but liquid trickle down his skin and he knew he was cut.

"Do you know who I am?" the man growled, his hand tightening on Alphonse's mouth, pale fingers digging numbly into his skin. "_Answer the Goddamn question!" _

Alphonse shook his head. The blade cut deeper into his skin and he felt the man's ragged breath against his collar as the man laughed.

"Good."

And suddenly he was freed. Alphonse clenched his hands into fists and thrust his elbow back. He felt it connect with the man's stomach. The man staggered back and Alphonse whirled around, getting back into position. He stared in mild surprise as the man – who was dressed in all black; he had no face – flickered like an old light bulb, switching between translucent and solid.

"You're just a soul," Alphonse stated, watching warily as the man stood straight, a grinning mouth of pointed teeth appearing on the flat, black surface that was his face.

"Correct, Alchemist." The man said, pointing at Alphonse. "You are too."

"I know that," he answered. "You pulled me out – didn't you?"

"Smart little fella, aren't ya?" The man grinned wider, if it were possible.

"Why?"

"Because," the man replied, his grin vanishing and his happy tone turned cold, "it's time."

Before Alphonse could defend himself, the man was suddenly in front of him, the dagger in his hand slicing through his shirt, plunging into his right bicep. Alphonse ignored the dull throbbing he shouldn't have felt and shoved the heel of his left hand into the man's face. The man fell, taking the knife with him as he cackled fell, blood splashing as he hit the ground. Alphonse hissed and clapped his hand to his arm as pain spread though it like fire.

"What did you do?" Alphonse demanded through clenched teeth as the pain got worse.

The man laughed coldly from the ground, "Nothing," he answered as his body faded away and Alphonse's pain got worse. "_You _did it, not me."

The man disappeared and absolute _agony _overwhelmed him. Alphonse screamed. It was as if lava was boiling through him, searing his veins and heart, blinding his vision red and tearing him apart from the inside out. He collapsed, clawing at the bloody ground, trying to regain control of himself, get past the pain and back to reality. His vision blurred and he started to panic. If he passed out, he would never be able to get back. And yet, the field of red and black started to dim and sway and a strange comfort came over him.

Alphonse shut his eyes and it all went away.

----

**A/N: **Sorry for the lateness, hope you enjoyed!

Please R/R, and tell me if anyone's out of character, especially Edward. I feel kind of uneasy about how he acts in his. This whole chapter feels rushed too… if you have any suggestions to help me improve; I'll take them with love.Until chapter 3,

--Renneh :


	4. Awakening

----

**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

3. Awakening

Edward's fist met the out-out-place head of Roy Mustang over and over again, yelling silently. Alphonse could see the anger twist his brother's face into something he didn't recognize, his eye brows pulled together tightly, his lips pulled back into a permanent snarl and his eyes showed nothing but pure fury.

What was going on? Why was Edward so angry? All the sound was gone, just a soft hum in his ears, not even the soft hiss of Envy transforming into his familiar green-haired-self could be heard. It was like Alphonse had gone deaf and he was forced to read lips, which sadly wasn't something he could do. Not only that, he was frozen, unable to move or speak. He couldn't do anything other than watch.

Edward leaned back, his left hand in a tight fist and slammed it down violently, but it didn't connect with Envy's face. Instead there was a flash and Edward recoiled suddenly, as if burnt, his golden eyes wide with not anger, but terror as his whole body trembled.

Alphonse didn't understand. Who was the blond haired man and why was Edward so scared of him? It didn't make any sense and it was even more frustrating when he tried and failed to hear what they were saying.

And suddenly, there was sound, and Alphonse's mind went blank as he stared in helpless horror at the scene that played out silently in front of him. In a blink, Envy changed back and thrust his hand _through_ Edward's chest, the sickening squelch and crunch of flesh and bone being torn apart echoed loudly. Edward's face was frozen, stuck in shock, his mouth agape, eyes wide, but terribly dull. Envy, however, was looking even madder than usual, his pale face split in a wide grin, his violet eyes wide and laughing.

Alphonse could hear his brother gasping, but it sounded like someone was sucking at the last drops of their drink with a straw. He could hear Envy cackling gleefully and a baby crying somewhere in the distance. But he didn't really notice the sounds.

There was blood.

Blood.There was blood, everywhere.

And it was his _brother's_.

It sprayed from Edward's chest, onto the floor, drenched both the back and front of his black shirt, turned his messily-braided, sun-kissed hair crimson, poured down his chin as he choked, ran down Envy's arm and splattered the crazed face.

Envy sat up and his brother turned towards him, his empty, unfocused eyes, drilled into him hauntingly. There was no reassurance, no smile, not even a spark. There was nothing.

_**September 17, 1917, **__**9:00**__**AM, Central, Amestris**_

"_NO!_" A hoarse scream tore out of Alphonse's throat as he jolted up, his tightly shut eyes sprang open. He sat rigid, his breath coming in uneven gasps while his heart hammered in his ribcage as he stared, wide-eyed at the wall in front of him.

Alphonse shuddered and brought his knees up to his chest, covering his face with his gloved hands as he somehow managed to ward off threatening tears.

That had been one of the most terrifying scenes he had ever witnessed, even if it had just been a nightmare. It felt so… real and he couldn't get the images out of his head. The more he tried, the more they came back. Edward, his brother, being killed right in front of him, by Envy, someone he could almost call family… it made him nauseous. And all the blood… Alphonse curled deeper into himself, pressing his hands harder to his face, ordering his mind to erase the memory.

Alphonse froze, his breath becoming shallow and choppy as a pair of arms were wrapped around him, a hand running softly over his hair, the other pulling him into a warm, broad chest. He remained still, closing his eyes, as he listened to the other's heart beat. It was steady, pulsing loudly into his ear, much unlike his own, which was fluttering rapidly.

"Its okay, Al," he drew a sharp intake of breath and his eyes snapped open at the deep, yet achingly familiar voice. "Don't cry…"

Alphonse felt two drops of cold splatter on his neck and he shivered, slowly raising his head, trying to remember how to breathe normally. His mop of bangs was brushed away and he immediately found himself staring into liquid gold, forgetting how to breathe all together."…Brother…?" Alphonse blinked, furrowing his brow in embarrassment, "I wasn't crying…"

Edward's worried face lit up, his frown splitting into a wide grin. The strong arm around his back tightened, pulling Alphonse even closer. Another ice cold blob of water fell onto Alphonse's cheek, running down his face, but he barely noticed as he stared up at his brother.

He had tried to prepare himself for what Edward would look like when he was eighteen; looking at the last picture Winry took when he was sixteen and calculating it in his head. But now, it was like a slap in the face, realizing for the second time that he was missing five years. Five years didn't seem like such a long time when he thought about it, but thinking back, when saw Winry for the first time, he had been silenced in shock. At least this time, he was able to speak.Alphonse was awakened as another droplet of water fell on his face. He scrunched his nose from the discomfort as it rolled across face. He heard a chuckle and felt a warm, calloused thumb wipe it away and he looked up at his brother again.

"Sorry, I just got out of the shower," Edward apologized sheepishly, but his face softened as he ran his fingers through Alphonse's hair again. It took most of the younger Elric's will power to keep from dozing off when Edward did this. "I missed you… so much, Al."

"I missed you too, brother… all the time," Alphonse looked down, as the back of his eyes burned, staring at one of the buttons on his brother's shirt. He rested his head on Edward's chest and wrapped his arms around his torso, hesitating when he felt metal underneath the fabric.

_"Hey, Al!"__Alphonse turned his head weakly, glancing out of the corner of his eye as Winry walked into his room. He smiled as best he could at her and gave a feeble attempt to sit himself up. He just ended up back against the hospital pillows when Winry pushed him back._

_"I brought pictures today," the sixteen year old beamed, waving a photo book in the air. "Maybe you'll remember once you see them."_

_Alphonse remained silent__, staring at his hands__ as she opened the thick binder, flipping though pages of their childhood, their grinning faces flashing at him for a moment before she stopped. Winry propped the book up on the side of the bed,__ pointing to a picture of a boy__ with blond, braided hair, herself,__ and a girl with brown hair and glasses. They all had coffee mugs and were smiling uneasily at something out of range of the camera._

_"This was taken the last night you and Ed stayed with me and granny. That's Sheiska, you met her before, that's me and there's Edward," she smiled softly at the memory. _

_Alphonse's eyes trailed along the page, looking at the other pictures, before landing on one at the bottom. It was his brother wearing a black tank top, a towel around his shoulders and he was grinning up at a huge, bulky suit of armor. _

_"Is… was that… me?" he stuttered,__ speaking for the first time while Winry was in the same room,__ pointing to the armor._

_Winry didn'__t__ say anything__ for a moment. _

_"Yeah," was all she said__, sounding lost in her thoughts_

_Alphonse found himself__ star__ing__ at his brother's right arm__ in__ the picture, even though his former 'body' was painfully taunting at the corner of his vision__But, all he could think of was how t__he automail__ was out of place on his brother's__ small body, shining menacingly in the sun.__ He frowned_

"You still have automail," Alphonse murmured, clutching his brother's back, pulling himself closer. "I was going to get you back to normal, Winry said…"

"Well, it was kind of complicated…"

"Wrath, right?

"So Winry's got you caught up on everything?" Edward chuckled, the happy sound rumbling loudly in Alphonse's ear. "She could've saved some for me!"

Alphonse smiled softly, "Apparently we didn't tell her a lot, but she told me everything she knew."

"Yeah, her automail saved my sorry butt more times than I can count. I don't mind it," Edward patted Alphonse on the head and he looked up. "Let's go see her. I'm sure she'd be glad to see you up."

Alphonse grimaced and pulled out of his brother's embrace, untangling himself from the blanket, "She's going to be mad at me." He stood up, straightening his jacket and folding the blanket neatly. When he was done, Edward had put his metal arm around Alphonse's shoulders, steering the shorter one towards the door before he could find something else to bide time.

"Don't worry little brother; I'll protect you from her flying wrenches."

Truth be told, while he was worried about Winry, at the moment, he was more afraid of the other automail mechanic.

_**September 17, 1917, 9:15**__**AM, Central, Amestris**_

The bell above the door jingled, indicating a new customer had just arrived. Ran Fan paused in her work, her hands hovering, shaking, above the automail leg, a shiver running through her spine.

_"Ran Fan,"_

_ She __shifted her head__, regarding the owner of the voice with a hard stare__. The Xingese boy grinne__d devilishly at her, raising a hand to wave._

_"Yo__u're not him," she said quietly__, "he's__…__ dead."_

_He didn't move at her words, but his grin stretched__ uncharacteristically__ wider__, his onyx eyes shining without spirit._

_"You're right__, girl,__ I'm not him,__" this time when he spoke, his accent disappeared and his pitch __rose__ in tone, sounding nearly feminine__. With a whisper of a sound, Ling Yao morphed into a lanky, pale young man. Long, green strands of hair fe__ll over sharp, wild violet eyes.__ The moon light shone eerily off his skin, shadowing one half of his body.__ "But he's not dead."_

_"Yes, but he's not there," she muttered angrily, trying not to raise her voice. "What you did to him cannot be called _alive_, Envy__"_

_"Don't blame it on me," the shape shifter said in a sing-song tone. "He wanted to go through with it, you could've stopped him. You could've been saved – you could still be on the other side right now, but you chose to follow your master. Like a dog."_

_"Shut up."_

_"Oh now, now," he frowned. "Don'__t be mad__. You're not the only one in this situation__."_

_"You're sick!" She snapped, her temper flaring. "You did that to others too?"__"But they wanted it done," Envy's voice was suddenly serious. _

_"I hardly believe you would waste your precious Stone on someone who _wanted _to become a… a monster." Ran Fan retorted._

_"It wasn't wasted," there was a murderous gleam in the homunculus's eye. _

_"What was it then?"_

_"Equivalent Exchange," he said simply. "Revenge."_

_As soon as the words left his mouth, __a brigh__t light consumed her vision and __she found herself staring up at a grand pair of black doors. _

Ran Fan shook herself and stood up, walking stiffly to the front room, where Winry was talking to the new comer; a tall, curvy woman with short cropped blond hair. Ran Fan gripped tightly onto the door frame, immediately feeling the urge to throw the woman into the wall and beat her senseless, but she held back, trying to keep on her emotionless mask, not wanting to create a scene.

"Is there anything I can help you with today, ma'am?" Winry asked politely.

"Yes, actually," the woman replied, placing her black-gloved hands on the counter top, "is Alphonse around?"

Ran Fan drew a sharp breath and the woman's green eyes darted in her direction for a split second before returning to Winry. Ran Fan eyed the woman suspiciously. What in the world did she want with the young Elric?

"…he's sleeping right now," Winry said and Ran Fan felt somewhat relieved. "But I can deliver a message if you like."

The woman made no change in her position that would give away her impatience, but Ran Fan definitely caught the flash in her emerald eyes.

"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. "Well, it's kind of important, so if you could, as soon as he wakes up, can you tell him that I stopped by?"

"Of course, but…" Winry paused, "what's your name? He would want to know who was here."

"Clara," the woman purred as she turned around to leave. "Thank you for your time, miss."

Ran Fan released her iron grip on the door frame once Clara was out of sight and gave a small smile to Winry, who was furious.

"I swear to God, that boy has it out for him," the blond growled, clenching her wrench tightly. "Did you see that – that," she gestured wildly, her entire body tensing as she mouthed the word 'prostitute'.

"Hey Winry! Guess who's awake!"

Ran Fan barely noticed as Winry's face darkened, twisting into something deadly and probably scared small children. Instead, she felt the same restless feeling that she had when Clara entered the store. Ran Fan turned around to see Alphonse and Edward Elric– who was grinning so wide she thought his face would crack – Edward's right arm draped across Alphonse's shoulders.

Suddenly, a sense of dread, like a boulder was dropped into her stomach, numbed her. She clenched her fists, metal screeching together from her left, automail hand. And yet, she stood still, watching as Edward protectively pulled Alphonse closer as Winry glared daggers into the younger Elric.

"No way, Winry," Edward stated, glaring back at the girl, "I finally got him back and I'm not letting you mess him up."

"_Fine_ then," Winry snarled, slamming her wrench down on the counter top, stepping up to Alphonse, who was staring at her with wide, hazel eyes. "Who is Clara?" She demanded.

The boy just blinked, while Edward looked as if he swallowed something nasty.

"Clara?" Alphonse repeated, sounding dumbfounded. "She's what you're upset about?"

"How d'you-" Edward started, but was cut off by a look from Winry.

"Um, Al?" Winry started with a different, softer tone, as if explaining something to a preschooler. "What is she to you?"

Alphonse turned as red as the coat he was wearing and shook his head violently.

"It isn't like that!" He squeaked, waving his hands in defense. "No. No. I met her right after Sensei was put in the hospital. She said that-" he stopped in mid-sentence, freezing as if realizing something important. "- she said that she knew me before."

Winry looked up at Edward with accusing eyes and he smiled weakly.

"Mustang sent us on an assignment to Aquora and she was a nurse there," Edward explained. "… and a thief." He added.

"EDWARD!" She scolded, smacking him in the left arm with her wrench. "Ow! _What!" _Edward glared at her and rubbed his arm, letting go of his brother for the first time since he came down. "The useless police there asked me to help catch her, it was no big deal!"

Winry held her gazed, almost daring him to say another word. Ran Fan thought for a moment the blond girl would start screaming again, but Winry lowered her wrench and sighed.

"Fine," she muttered, then turned around and walked past Ran Fan, into the work room, but looked back at Alphonse angrily. "Oh yeah, Clara wanted to see you, as soon as possible. She said it was important."

The air in the automail shop suddenly turned awkward as Winry stared at Alphonse, her blue eyes radiating anger.

"…so… I guess I should get going then," Alphonse said, breaking the silence while shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Wait – you're leaving?" Edward blurted out, sounding panicked. Alphonse smiled wearily up at his brother and shrugged, "Well, yeah… I mean, Clara said it was important.""But, don't you think it could wait? At least have breakfast or something," Edward stuttered. Ran Fan could hear the yearning in his voice. "It's been so long since I've seen you, Al."

"Brother," Alphonse reached up and ruffled the taller one's hair affectionately. "I know. But, you worry too much. I'll be quick, fifteen minutes – a half hour at the most, alright?"

Edward sighed and shoved the hand away playfully, "Okay, but if you're late, I'll come looking for you."

"I won't be late; we have a lot to catch up on. Two years for you and about five for me," Alphonse grinned and punched his brother in the arm – the right one and Ran Fan noticed he didn't even flinch.

He hurried out and waved to Edward through the glass pane. As he passed, his honey-brown eyes connected with hers. All warmth seemed to abruptly vanish, even though he was still smiling. He wasn't glaring - the other two in the room wouldn't have noticed the change in Alphonse's stare. She felt goose bumps rise on her skin and then he suddenly walked out of sight.

_'Shit.'_

----

**A/N:** Sorry for this being so late. School's been a bitch and what not. Ed and Al's reunion was rather cheesy, if you ask me. Although, it was written three or four times… this was by far the best one. I was going to have Al cry, but I hate making him seem so 'brotheeerrr I love you, now lets go bawl tears of joy while you comfort meeeee!'. No. Just – no. So yeah, review and such please!Also, I'd like to say happy birthday to Aevium! And oh yeah, HOLY **FSEFSEKFJELKSGJESGUJIERJGEKRGSGJVEIL RJESLIRF** for chapter 76. Hiromu is definitely trying to make us pull our hair out with anticipation, or maul her, or something.

ESFEDFESKLFSJELSKESJFLJSEJFeijeghageGKEGKEGKEDONOOOOOOO--Renneh :)


	5. Godspeed

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**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

4. Godspeed

_**September 17, 1917, 9:**__**45**__**AM, Central, **__**Amestris**_

Edward stared out the window from his spot in Winry's workshop, his right leg bouncing up and down in impatience. He sighed and unfolded his arms, resting his elbow on his knee, placing his chin in his palm. "Edward, relax," Winry's soft voice made it's way to his ears over the loud sound of the drill, but he ignored it, searching the street for a red jacket. "He'll be back soon enough."

He remained silent, pressing his lips tighter together. It had been fifteen minutes since Alphonse had left and Edward had not once moved from the work bench. Winry had tried multiple times to get another answer out of him about Clara, but he didn't answer; too caught up in waiting.He had been surprised when Alphonse said he was leaving. Never would he had thought his little brother would leave his side so soon. As he thought, his surprise turned into fear as he began to realize how two and a half years of being apart had changed Alphonse. Not for the worst – no. Nothing about Alphonse was ever _bad. _

He had changed physically, of course. He was finally back where he belonged, in a body of flesh and blood that could _feel, _not a numb, oversized cage of twisted metal.

But his personality had changed too. Not a lot, but enough to notice. The only word Edward could possibly describe it as was 'independent'. 'Independent' and 'Alphonse' didn't exactly go hand in hand, at least, not in Edward's opinion. Sure, in one or two situations three years ago he would've loved for his little brother to be a little more independent, but now Edward felt as if he had fallen a few steps behind; like Alphonse was drifting away from him.

_**September 17, 1917, **__**9:30AM**__**, Central, **__**Amestris**_

Alphonse quickened his pace and shuddered as if he felt a sudden chill. Ran Fan was definitely not in a good mood – well, it seemed like she never was never in any mood, but the look she had gave him as he left Winry's shop absolutely screamed hatred.He wasn't really sure what made the Xingese girl so aggravated, he never actually had a full conversation with her. It possibly could've been because of Clara, maybe Winry was starting to rub off on the usually emotionless teen, but Alphonse seriously doubted his Winry theory.He heaved out a sigh and his breath rolled out in a puff of steam. It was colder than he thought, definitely under the seasonal temperature for mid-September. He pulled his _brother's _red jacket closer around his shoulders and looked up, making sure he wasn't lost.Sitting on the bench coming up before him was a familiar blond-haired woman. She wore a tight, dark green turtle-neck sweater and a black skirt that reached just below her knees. She was sitting up straight, both legs and arms crossed as she stared with dull-green eyes across the street.

"Clara," he greeted as he came up beside her.

She looked up and her impassive face broke into a warm smile. She stood up and gave a quick look around before pressing a hand onto the small of his back, pushing him in the direction he came. "Thanks for coming," she said, staring down at him with half-lidded eyes. "Lets walk and talk."

"Is there something wrong?" Alphonse asked.

"No," she answered, brushing her hair out of her eyes with a pale finger. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"Everything's fine. Actually, this is the best day I've had in... well, since I can remember," he smiled softly, a quick feeling of exhilaration rising in his chest. "It worked. My brother's finally back… I really owe Envy so much." For a moment, he felt he should've told her about the dream he had had, with his mother, and the man… but he didn't.

As they kept walking, Clara was silent and he glanced up in curiosity. She shook her head and gazed down at him."You don't owe Envy anything," she said gently. "You've already given your Equivalent Exchange."

Alphonse frowned as they neared Winry's shop, "But what I gave can hardly be enough to open the Gate. How is that Equivalent Exch-"

Clara cut him off by pressing two fingers to his lips and shook her head. She stopped in front of the glass window pane of Winry's shop, turning on him. Alphonse blinked, taken aback at the strict, almost desperate look in her eyes."Alphonse, _trust _me," she said in a low, hushed tone. He looked away from Clara, through the glass where he could see his brother coming towards them, a look of relief _and _annoyance on his face. Alphonse returned his eyes to Clara's. "You _cannot _give anything else to Envy. What you gave is already more than enough. Now, did you tell anything to your brother?"

"No, Envy told me not to," Alphonse replied.

"Good," she whispered hurridly. "Now, I really hate to take you away from your brother, but you need to stop by tonight. It's incredibly important."

As Edward opened the shop door, she straightened up and turned around, facing an annoyed Edward with a friendly smirk, all seriousness gone.

"Edward, you've grown up," she commented, raising an eyebrow.

The older Elric glared at her, "Shouldn't you be off saving your city, Psiren?"Alphonse hurried over to his brother's side, who didn't look at him. He seemed to be too busy as he stared down Clara.

"It's underwater by now," she replied airily.

"Oh, so now you're in Central to '_save it from sinking__'_ too, hm?" Edward folded his arms.

"Brother," Alphonse cut in, feeling the dangerous tension in the air. "Clara's working at the hospital down the street. She's given up stealing now."

"She's tricked you again, Al?"

As Edward went off on another rant about how Clara was lying, the woman gave a small wave to Alphonse and walked away."Hey! I wasn't finished! We got something to settle!"

"C'mon you two, I've closed up the shop; we're going to see General Mustang."

Winry - who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, fully dressed - grabbed the two brothers by their elbows and pulled them in the direction of Central Headquarters. But this time, it was Alphonse who was dragging his feet, not the former FullMetal.

_**September 17, 1917, 10:00**__**AM, Central, **__**Amestris**_

"We proudly present to you today the position of Furher!"The applause and cheering echoed around the ball room in a loud, joyous wave as Roy Mustang, aka the Flame Alchemist stood to accept his position. He already planned this moment out in his head; give a charming smile to the crowd, wave at the crowd and step up to the podium.

"Congratulations, sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye said, a rare smile gracing her features as he passed her.

"I wouldn't have gotten here with out you, Riza," he praised, brushing his hand over her shoulder as he stopped at the podium.

As he turned and stared out at the people of Amestris that now relied on him for their lives, he heard a faint sound. He began his speech, the crowd went silent, but the sound grew louder and he recognized it as foot steps.Suddenly, there was a loud, crashing bang, almost like a gun shot. Several people screamed and Roy immediately went for his gloves, but as he turned to the sound he froze. There, standing in the side entrance was a blond-haired teenage boy wearing a blood red jacket.

The boy glared up at him and pointed with an accusing finger."Hey, General! Wake up!"

Roy could only stare. Wasn't the boy dead? After a moment, he regained his composure and smiled as best he could out at the crowd, who were mumbling in confusion.

"FullMetal, how nice of you to join us," Roy chuckled and gestured to an empty seat. "You're just in time for my speech."

"I _said _wake up!" He turned his head to talk to… well, no one was there. "Jeez, is it always this hard to wake him up, Lieutenant?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Roy jumped, hearing Riza, who was at his side, quietly answer Edward's question.

Edward pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, mumbling something under his breath."WAKE UP!"

_BAM!_

Roy jolted, springing up in his seat, staring with unfocused eyes into striking, gold ones. He blinked, as the piece of paper that was stuck to his face, fell off while the golden eyes retreated and a familiar, but deeper, "ew" was mumbled.

"FullMetal?"

The young _man _- Roy corrected himself – grinned and sat back, folding his arms. Now Roy could see two other people on either side of the Alchemist. Edward's mechanic, Winry Rockbell, who Roy smiled at, and Edward's little brother, Alphonse Elric. Alphonse glanced up at him, then quickly off to the side.

Oh yes, if Roy could remember correctly, the younger Elric had been quite upset with him the last time they had met.And then, of course, was Edward himself, who, surprisingly had grown quite a bit over two and half years. His hair had grown longer and was tied back in a high pony tail, he wore a… tux (which Roy decided to prod about later). Other than that, he hadn't really changed much, except for the fact he didn't look – or sound – like a pubescent little brat.

"So, look who finally shows up," Roy smirked, shuffling his papers into a neat pile. "I don't have to move my papers out of the way to see you either!"

Edward laughed, "Well people _do _grow over three years. Now, I got two questions for ya."

"Shoot," Roy stated, raising an eye brow.

"One," Edward said, holding up his index finger. "What happened to your face?"

Lieutenant Hawkeye tensed slightly beside him and Roy ran his hand over the eye patch that covered most of the left side of his face."It's a long story and I'll explain it to you later," He replied, but Edward pointed his finger higher and Roy added, "I was shot."

Edward's gaze darkened slightly and he raised a second finger. "Two. Why the _hell _did you tell all of Amestris that I was _dead!_" He snapped and almost stood up but Winry grabbed his arm and kept him seated.

"You had quite the reputation and at that time you were wanted. After you disappeared, General Mustang came to the conclusion of telling the public you had died, instead of saying you were in hiding." Hawkeye answered when Roy didn't reply, her voice tinted with a hint of sympathy.

"But there were… no remains," Edward protested.

"I believe about a year and a half ago, Alphonse and I had the same discussion," Roy took this one and Alphonse sunk deeper into the couch, avoiding eye contact. "And I told him the same thing, even if he didn't want to hear it."

_It was the first time Roy had ever seen the boy in the flesh and it took him a few moments to get over the face Alphonse looked nearly identical to Edward. __Well, not identical. Alphonse had softer looks that accompanied his soft personality. His eyes were almost __golden,__and almost brown at the same time and it gave Roy a headache to choose between the two. Alphonse's hair wasn't as blonde as his brother__'s__ either__, like his eyes, his hair was browner__ And yet, they looked almost like twins,__ especially since Alphonse donned his brother's clothing._

_"So," Alphonse brought Roy out of his thoughts and back to his office. "You're going to give up, just like that__"_

_"I haven'__t given up__," Roy said, though he wasn't completely sure if that statement was entirely truthful._

_"Then why aren't you doing anything!" The sudden sharpness in Alphonse's tone made Roy flinch. He never actually witnessed the younger __Elric's__fury, but he had heard that Alphonse matched - and sometimes exceeded – Edward's temper._

_"…We've already searched the Un__d__erground City and found nothing that could suggest that Edward is down there,"__ Roy said calmly,__ after a moment._

_"__That's a pathetic excuse," Alphonse spat, his hazel-brown-gold eyes on fire. Any shred of the old, polite __Elric__ that was in the room mere seconds ago, was gone. His hands were in tight fists by his sides and his small frame was shaking. "You're the Flame Alchemist, a __General,__ you have enough power to send a team out there to look for him – so why don't you help!"_

_"The government's money would be wasted if spent on a goose chase," Roy explained quietly. "Edward is gone. I've lost a great friend, but I've come to terms with his death. Perhaps you should too."_

_"…Fine then," Alphonse glared at him. "I'll find a way to get him back by myself."_

"I guess you're right," Edward sighed, running a hand through his bangs.

"…Pardon?" Roy choked. Had Edward just _agreed _with him? Was it possible his former subordinate had matured over the time he had been gone?

"You're right. It would've been a waste of money to send troops out to look for me," Edward replied simply.

"You've got some explaining to do," Roy murmured as Edward stood up.

"I know," Edward stretched. "So do you. But I really want to get the hell out of here. I'm getting stiff already."

_**September 17, 1917, 4:00P**__**M, Central, **__**Amestris**_

Alphonse watched quietly as his brother and Winry yelled at each other, their argument making no sense. They had just gotten back from shopping for Edward, but the short trip had turned into a six hour shopping spree. Needless to say, with barely any sleep from the night before, Alphonse was ready to drop, and the heavy bags in his arms weren't helping any.

"Winry, where should I put these?" He called when there was a pause in the shouting.

"In the living room is fine – _where do you think you're going Ed!?" _Winry demanded as Edward started walking away.

"I'm going to the bathroom, if you don't mind," Edward replied sarcastically. "You can yell at me through the door if you want."

Alphonse placed the bags down on the floor and lay on the couch, putting an arm over his eyes as Winry stormed in the room. He heard her sit down across from him, huffing. He couldn't even remember what the fight had been about and he was pretty sure she didn't either. It had started as they were walking back when Edward suggested she held some of the bags, but she refused. It had just escalated from there and Alphonse hadn't paid attention.

He had something more important on his mind: how he was going to sneak out later that night. It wouldn't be too hard to sneak past his brother, who wouldn't even be in the apartment, but out with the General and his subordinates at a bar. Winry was going to be the real problem. She always wanted to know where he was going and when he would be back, but with Envy it was hard to tell.Edward returned in silence and gently pushed Alphonse's legs up, plopping down on the space he had just provided himself. It was rather awkward and Alphonse wasn't sure if he should sit up or not, wondering if they thought he was asleep.

"Do you want to come with me when I go to see Mustang later?" Edward's voice was hesitant and Alphonse knew immediately it was his apology.

"I'll probably stick around. Someone has to stay here with Al," Winry answered politely. Translation: she forgave him.

"Oh. Okay, well, if you change your mind…" Edward trailed off and shifted.

"Well, I think I'm going to make dinner. What do you want to eat?" Winry asked.

"Doesn't matter, whatever you're making," Edward replied.

Alphonse heard Winry walk into the kitchen and after a moment, felt his brother's gaze on him. It took most of his will not to squirm or move around, to look as if he were sleeping as Edward studied him.

"…Al," He flinched inwardly. "I know you're awake."

A small smile crept its way onto Alphonse's lips and he sheepishly removed his arm from his face. Edward grinned at him and suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him roughly into a sitting position. Alphonse tugged his arm back, but Edward kept holding on.

"C'mon," he said after a moment. "Let's go help Winry."

Edward stood up, pulling his brother along with him. Alphonse stumbled to his feet and Edward steadied him and let go of his arm. They walked into the kitchen, where Winry was boiling water and picking ingredients out of the cupboards.

"Whatcha makin'?" Edward asked, stepping up to the counter.

"I'm making stew, like when we were kids," Winry explained happily, handing Alphonse a squash. "And for desert, apple pie. When you were still in the armor, Al, I promised it would be the first thing you tasted… but that was hospital food."

"Oh, thanks, Winry," Alphonse said, unsure of what to say.

"It's really good, you'll love it," Edward smirked.

Alphonse quietly started cutting up the squash. Now that he, his brother and Winry were finally back together again, his other 'family' consisting of Envy, Greed and Clara suddenly didn't look as inviting. But, he had to go. Clara said _Envy _said it was important, and not many things were important to Envy. That meant something either happened, or was going to happen.

But he didn't want to. Oh he didn't want to. He wanted to stay at Winry's, even if Brother wasn't going to be there for most of the night. He still wanted to stay. He paused in his chopping, staring down at his gloved hands, which were clenched tight around the vegetable and the knife, and shaking. It wouldn't hurt if he didn't go, would it?

He took a deep breath to calm down and decided it.

He'd stay home.

Maybe Envy would check up on him, Alphonse didn't care.

----

I KNOW. Crappy chapter. NEXT ONE WILL BE BETTERRRRR.

**Warning for next chapter:** Alcohol abuse, intense OOC-ness of Ed, a little bit (maybe more) of _EdWin_, blood and_ death_.

And about the title of this chapter… Godspeed is a song by Anberlin that I kept listening to throughout this chapter and I'm too goddamn lazy to think of an original title, since nothing happened in this.

Please review!

--Renneh :)


	6. The Beginning

----

**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

5. The Beginning.

_**September 17, 1917, 10:45P**__**M, Central, Amestris**_

"Another,"

Edward slammed his shot glass down and squinted blearily up at the bar tender, who shook his head and went to get another glass. Havoc exchanged an astonished glance at a worn out Mustang. It was amazing how much alcohol the kid could hold down without passing out, and Havoc was pretty sure this next shot was the last the bar tender was allowed to give the eighteen year old.

"Hey, how 'bout you take a little break there, Ed?" Mustang suggested, his voice laced with annoyance. He tried more times than Havoc could count to try and find out where Edward had been for the past three years, but Edward refused to speak about it.

Edward placed his forehead down on the bar and gave a small whine.

"Al's so diff'rent now," he slurred, grasping the back of his head, pulling some of his hair out of its hold. The conversation had been like that all night, drifting randomly from one topic to another. "It's like 'e doesn't need me 'round no more… or somethin'."

"Don't say that Edward," reassured a sober Hawkeye, who was the designated driver of the outing. "Alphonse is extremely happy to have you back."

"Yeah… but yur jus' sayin' that to make me feel better," Edward hiccoughed and lifted his head slightly as the bar tender came back with his drink, but Mustang took it instead. The shorter one reached for it, but Mustang downed it. "Hey… that was mine… bastard…"

"Trust me, FullMetal – Alphonse _does _need you. He's just a little more grown up since the last time you seen him," Mustang said firmly, and waved the bartender away as Edward opened his mouth to call for another drink. "And you're done for tonight." He and Hawkeye each grabbed an elbow. Edward didn't fight as they pulled him out of the bar chair, but his legs didn't seem to work, his feet dragging on the floor. Mustang sighed impatiently and looked up at Hawkeye as they put Edward's arms over their shoulders. "Ms. Rockbell is going to kill us, Lieutenant."

_**September 17, 1917, 11:00P**__**M, Central, Amestris**_

"You're cheating Al," Winry growled as she reshuffled the deck of cards.

"I can't be cheating," Alphonse smirked as she divided the deck in half and placed one half in front of him. "It's impossible for me to cheating in War if you're the one shuffling the deck all the time."

She blew up her cheeks and crossed her legs as they took the top cards from each of their decks and placed them face up on the floor. A ten on Winry's side and a six on Alphonse's side. She grinned and collected the two cards and put them under her deck. Maybe luck was taking her side for once.

She smiled, remembering how she and Alphonse would play cards when he was in the hospital. He would never say a word to her, watching silently as she would lose her patience. It was during those quiet times that they had bonded the most, or at least, that's how Winry felt. They had never actually been alone for such a long period of time before then and even though they never spoke, Winry enjoyed it.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door and Winry fumbled with the cards in surprise. She and Alphonse exchanged glances and Winry stood up. She hurried over and opened the door to see General Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye holding up a rather drunk Edward Elric. Winry stood there, unable to find words as she stared incredulously at Edward. His hair was a mess, his pony tail sitting to the right of his head, some strands falling out. His cheeks were rosy red and his eyes were unfocused as he blinked at her.

"Winry!" Edward exclaimed abruptly, throwing himself at her. Mustang and Hawkeye reached for him, but Winry caught him before he hit the ground. He smelt strongly of alcohol and her knees threatened to buckle as he leaned heavily on her, draping his arms around her neck, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Jeez, he's wasted!" She cried as Edward started nuzzling her neck, messing up his hair even more.

"…He's been like this all night," Mustang explained when Winry gave him the _look. _"Do you need any help?"

Winry pushed Edward away, but kept him upright. His head lolled to the side and he gave her a sloppy grin. She looked back up at Mustang and smiled weakly. "Its fine, Al and I will take care of him."

"Okay then," Mustang smirked. "Call if you need any help."

Winry somehow managed to close the door after the two had left. She rested against the wall as Alphonse walked up slowly to the two of them, his eyes wide. Edward looked up, squinting groggily at his brother and his face lit up. He let go of Winry, staggering towards Alphonse. The boy hurried forward, grabbing onto Edward's shoulders, steadying him.

"Aaaallll!" Edward cheered throwing his arms around Alphonse like he had with Winry. "I missed you…"

"I missed you too, Brother." Alphonse patted his brother's head and chuckled nervously.

"You're so cute, Al… jus' like when you were a kid," Alphonse's face turned bright red as Edward jabbed him in the cheek with an automail finger and he steered Edward toward the couch, a little roughly. The drunken teen sighed sadly. "I'm sorry 'bout everythin'. So sorry. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. Will you f'rgive me?"

"Of course I will, Brother. I'd never be able to be mad at you," Alphonse reassured as he lowered the both of them onto the couch.

"Tha's good!" Edward took one arm off of his brother and beckoned the girl to join them. "Wiiinry, c'mon over here!"

Winry couldn't help but laugh as she walked over to her friends. She had never in her life seen Edward like this before and it was incredible. He was so… affectionate when he was drunk. She wished she had a camera for blackmail later, but sadly she didn't. She plopped down next to Edward, who draped his automail arm over her shoulders.

"Ya know," He looked down at his lap and Winry exchanged a worried glance Alphonse. "Mustang ain't that bad of a guy once you get drunk with 'im." Edward burst out laughing. "Kinda gets a little depressed on ya, bu' you get used to it after a while."

"Umm, Brother? How much did you have to drink?" Alphonse asked tentatively as Edward pulled the other two closer, almost putting Winry in a head lock.

"Hmm… ya know what… I don't even know," Edward grinned widely. "I'm gonna have one hell of a hangover! Ha ha! You really gotta come nex' time, Al."

"Okay," Winry decided, pulling out from underneath the metal limb. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Al, you should go to bed, it's late. And Ed, you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Aighty, aighty, wha'ever you say Winry," Edward chuckled, letting Alphonse go, who reluctantly got up and went to his room.

Winry waited until Alphonse had shut his door before she retrieved a blanket, two pillows and a bucket, since it was more than likely the alcohol in Edward's stomach would turn on him. She placed the bucket beside the couch and fluffed the pillows before putting them on the arm rest. She pushed Edward down after removing his brown jacket that she had bought him earlier and draped the blanket over his body.

"Get some sleep," Winry ordered. "And vomit in the bucket, not all over my furniture."

Sure, he had been cute – adorable, even - in the beginning, but offering to take Alphonse to get drunk with military buddies? No. Maybe she had been a little too controlling to send Alphonse to bed, but over the last three years she felt as if she were responsible to make sure her young friend didn't get into trouble. She sighed and started to walk away when a cold, metal hand grabbed her wrist.

"Winry,"

She stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Yeah?""C'mere," He tugged on her arm and she knelt down but he pulled again. "Closer."

She bent down to his level, feeling utterly confused. Suddenly, the stench of alcohol was overwhelming as she was jerked forward, just mere inches from Edward's face. She froze, stopped breathing, unable to push herself away, even though her mind was screaming to. Edward didn't say anything as he brushed her hair behind her ear, cupping her chin in his hand, his half-lidded, unfocused, golden orbs searching hers.

"I love you,"

Then, without any warning what-so-ever, Winry was unexpectedly lip locked with her best friend, client and… Winry lost her train of thought. Her eyes were wide and her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and she didn't know why. Edward wasn't putting any force in the kiss, there was no pressure, just his lips softly placed against hers, yet it was sending sparks of electricity through her nerves, made her head spin, blurring her vision. It felt so good, but-

_'No.'_

Winry jerked away, wrenching her arm out of his grasp.

_'This isn't right__!'_

She didn't look at him and stumbled, light headed, to her room, her heart still hammering in her ribcage.

_**September 17, 1917, 11:05P**__**M, Central, Amestris**_

Not a second after Alphonse closed the door to his room; two ice cold hands were on him, one covering his mouth, the other around his neck. He gasped, trying to breathe, but no air met his lips. He found himself staring into narrowed, charcoal eyes, fingers digging into his neck, silencing him as he was directed over to his bed.

_Greed._

Alphonse was roughly shoved down, and he stared up at the Xingese homunculus, forgetting he was able to breathe now that he had been released. He was too caught up on the empty, eerie look in Greed's eyes.

"You're in trouble, _boy_."

Alphonse jumped at the velvet voice, whirling around to see Clara perched on his window sill. She stared at him, but as if she were looking straight through him. As if he wasn't there. He knew immediately that it wasn't _Clara, _but _Lust_.

"I'm sorry, I meant to come, I just forgot!" Alphonse whispered quickly, after regaining his will to speak.

"You know we don't really give a shit, right?" Greed murmured sarcastically. "Now we're late, and that cross dresser isn't going to think twice about your pointless job."

"Job?" He squeaked. "What job? Envy told me nothing about a job," Alphonse was scared. For the first time since he could remember, he was scared of his 'second family'.

----

The air outside was frigid and without his brother's red jacket, Alphonse was shivering. There was no one on the streets as the trio walked down the crumbling sidewalk. They were on the 'shifty' part of town, where most of the buildings were either empty or falling apart. Clouds were looming threateningly in the horizon, but were not close enough to cover the moon, which was providing most of the light on the chilly street.

Suddenly, a pale figure stepped out of an alley on their right. Alphonse immediately knew it was Envy and he swallowed nervously at the cheery look on the homunculus's face.

"Elric!" Envy greeted, patting Alphonse's back as he came to a stop at the entrance of the alley.

There was a rasping laugh, that didn't belong to the other three. It echoed of the two walls that provided the narrow, barely lit space. A chill ran up Alphonse's spin and he unconsciously pressed himself further into the cool palm that was on his shoulder. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he was able to see a bent over figure leaning against a trashcan. There was a steady _drip… drip… drip… _and as the figure looked up, Alphonse could see crimson liquid running down the man's face, over his left eye, from a large gash just below his grey hairline.

"Just get it over with," the man chuckled, staring at him with blood shot eyes. "Just do it."

Alphonse jumped when he felt a cold, sleek piece of metal placed in his hand. He tore his gaze away from the man and nearly yelped at the pistol in his hand. He made a move to drop it, but Envy wrapped his fingers on top of Alphonse's, directing the alchemist's digits into the correct spaces, around the trigger. Alphonse was frozen as Envy lifted their arms, pointing the gun down at the man. Finally, Alphonse found his voice.

"No! What are you doing!?" He tried to shove his hand down, but Envy had a strong hold. Alphonse growled and drilled his elbow back, but the homunculus caught it with a tight grip.

"Now, now, Elric… this man wants to die," Envy murmured, steadying the gun. "He has no money… no family… only a few years left, but all they will be is pain…"

Then man stared at him with dull brown eyes and Alphonse saw no fear radiating from his soul. It didn't make any sense. Nothing made sense! Why was he here? How did he end up in this position?

"But… I would be taking someone's life," his voice shook, and so did his knees.

There was suddenly a bright flash of light and a quiet hiss and Alphonse felt the hand on top of his become steel. His eyes widened and he tensed, waiting.

"Al," Envy's voice matched his brother's perfectly and Alphonse's breath hitched in his throat, the man in front of him blurring for a moment. "C'mon, you can do it! I've killed before, why can't you? I thought we were brothers."

"I… _can't_…" Alphonse couldn't find words and squeezed his eyes shut, lowering the weapon. It wasn't Edward. It was Envy. Envy was behind that mask. Brother would never do this to him, let alone a perfectly innocent human being!

"Al, it's alright if you're scared." Alphonse shuddered, feeling breath against his neck as a flesh hand ran reassuringly through his hair. "I was too, but the sooner you do it, the easier it is."

Alphonse opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

"That's it…" Edward whispered, raising Alphonse's arm again, fixing the slack position on the gun. "Just pull the trigger, and it's over and done with…"

The automail finger resting on top of Alphonse's pressed harder and he heard a click.

"You're doing great," Edward praised softly, pulling him into an awkward one arm embrace.And Alphonse wasn't sure whether it had been Edward who pulled the trigger, or himself. But he knew for sure he felt something, as the bullet drilled into the man's chest, as brown eyes went blank, a smile permanently fixed on pale lips, as blood sprayed onto Alphonse's face and poured under his shoes… Alphonse knew he felt something that wasn't fear, despair or horror. Something deep inside his chest, inside his very soul purred in delight, made blood pump faster throughout his body and gave him goose bumps.

Alphonse knew he wasn't supposed to feel satisfied after killing someone. But he did.And with the man's blood stained into his clothes, painted on his pale skin and in his hair, he tore from Envy's grip, shoved past Greed and Lust and he ran.

---

**A/N: **I love cliffhangers. :) Especially this one. But I hate waiting for updates, don't you?I'm sad to say… that, next chapter might be a bunch of flash backs. So far I've only put a bunch of 'omg envy is like al's brotherrrr' which really doesn't make any sense unless you live in my head. So, next chapter we'll have a little look into the past of Al and Envy and Greed and Clara/Lust and maybe Ran Fan and maybe a little bit of Ed in Munich. But! I will have some present stuff, so you all aren't too bored to death.

_P__lease review, I always reply and answer any questions AND constructive criticism is always my __favorite_

And thank you to **gyps**, for an awesome review!

Since this was a pretty intense cliffhanger, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can!!

--Renneh :)


	7. Fake

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**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

6. Fake

_"__Amestris__," Ling said out of the blue one day._

_"__Amestris__?"__ Ran Fan repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What interests you there, Master?"_

_"The Philosopher's Stone," Ling answered, staring out the palace window, where the sky was painted crimson reds, pale yellows and deep oranges as the sun began to set. The warm glow shone on Ling's face, however inking out one __eye__ in a black shadow. "They have a form of __Rentan__Jutsu__ there… Alchemy, they call it… it holds all the keys to immortality."__ He turned to her, a smile on his lips. "Just think, a hop and skip across the desert and we're there. We could leave tonight, no one would notice."__  
_

_Was he serious? Ran Fan just stood there, taken aback. She knew __all of their leads to everlasting life__ had come up as a dud and she _thought _Ling had given up months ago, after his father – __and emperor of Xing – had fallen into a coma__. This was the first time he had spoken about immortality since, and it was quite obvious he had been thinking about it for a while._

_"Do you want to leave?" Ran Fan asked quietly, regaining her voice. _

_Ling didn't reply, but she saw it in his eyes. The yearning, desire, desperation… silently, he was saying; "You can come with me or stay here, either way there's not going to be a trace of me tomorrow morning."_

_-------_

_Ling pounced, just as the green haired teen turned around. Ran Fan watched from a distance as the tip of Ling's sword was gently pressed against the skin between two violet eyes.__ For a moment, the homunculus looked surprised, but slowly, a__ grin spread its way across the pale face, showing a mouthful of pointed pe__arly whites. Ran Fan could tell this guy __wasn't going to give up easy. Then again, neither would they; not without a fight.__  
_

_"__Ahh__, Ling__ Yao__. We meet again. Came to reconsider my offer__?" the cross dresser raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips.__ "And you brought a lady friend too!"_

_Ran Fan felt her heart speed up in confusion and fear as emotionless__ eyes__ slid her way, but she didn't move from her hiding place. Ling had already met up with their lead before? __Without protection?__ Without telling her?_

_"__Where are we going to do this__, Envy__?" Ling inquired, __lowering his weapon._

_Ran Fan couldn't take it anymore and jumped from behind the pew, just as a __loud crack echoed and she suddenly found herself incased up to her chin in rock.__"Here, and now," a soft voice whispered in her ear __as she watched Ling whirl__ around. His surprised look held for a moment, before slowly melting into something dangerous. _

_"Let her go," Ling ordered quietly._

_"I'm afraid I can't do that," Ran Fan could now tell that whoever was__ behind__ her was a woman__. "We __don't want her to get in the way."_

_"So, now that we know your friend won't interfere, we can start now," Envy purred, grinning (if possibly) even wider._

_Ling was tense, the swords in his hands trembling from the force. His eyes darted from her to Envy. He was starting to break. _

_"Do it," Ran Fan suddenly blurted out, __surprising herself. _

_Ling __stared at her incredulously, "W__hat__…__?"__  
_

_"Do it," Ran Fan repeated__, unable to find any other word__s__. She didn't even know what they were talking about, but she assumed it was something important. "Just… __do__ it."_

_"__Alrighty__ then!"__ Envy exclaimed, placing a hand on Ling's shoulder, smiling__ cheerily at the woman who had Ran Fan__ captive. "Now that we have the lady's permission... Dante, you do the honors!" _

_Ran Fan felt herself drop__ and she only just managed to throw her hands out in front of her to catch her fall. She heard a loud, echoing crack, as if lightning broke the skies and thought for a moment she had blacked out_.

Ran Fan's head jolted up and a pounding silence came over her as she came back from her memories, awaken by a loud gun shot. She didn't have much time to dwell over it, however, as she watched as Alphonse bolted out of the alley way. The two standing at the entrance turned as Envy walked towards them. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but Envy seemed extremely satisfied. Then, the woman walked away, in the same direction Elric had run off, leaving Envy and _him _alone. They exchanged words and then _he _nodded, looking up, directly into her eyes as Envy walked back into the alley. No turning back now.

_**September 18, 1917, 2:00A**__**M, Central, **__**Amestris**_

Alphonse stared at the shop across the cobblestone road, but none of it actually registered in his mind. He felt the cold rain drill into his skin, seep through his jacket and drip from his hair, but he barely noticed it.

His tired eyes followed the car as it drove past, splashing water up around its tires, its headlights leaving him momentarily blinded. He blinked, pressing his nose harder into his soaked arms, which were wrapped around his knees. How long had he been sitting outside, across the street from Winry's store? How long had he been too much of a coward to face his brother? He couldn't remember. He didn't feel like thinking back. He figured it had to be only a couple of hours until dawn… until the city would slowly wake and continue on with their day… until Edward would find his little brother missing.

Alphonse sighed and pulled his legs closer to his chest, leaning closer to the brick wall behind him. He could make an excuse for being out of bed and he could easily use alchemy to dry himself off… but Edward was immediately going to notice something was off. He had just _killed_ someone; anyone would notice something was wrong with him.

He tilted his head, staring at the turmoil in the sky. He closed his eyes, holding them shut for a moment, letting the rain run down over his face, his forehead, his eye lids, his cheeks, his nose, his lips, around his ears, slither like ice down his neck. The water had washed away the man's blood… he just wished it would wash away the memory.

What would his brother think? He had killed someone. He, himself; Alphonse Elric, the little, lovable brother of the Alchemist of the people… _killed an innocent man. _

It was disgusting.

And even worse: he could've stopped himself. But he didn't. He fell for Envy's trick. His lips twitched at the corners, tugging into a small, cold smile as the rain started to pour down harder. It was quite silly, quite stupid of him, really. How could he have fallen for something so obvious? Envy was a _shape shifter _and he knew that Edward was his role model… his reason to live… the list would go on. So even a child could figure out that in Alphonse's time of doubt, Edward would be the only who could console him.

But for some reason, even though Alphonse knew that Edward would never, ever in a million years _ever _kill anyone; he fell for Envy's act.

Alphonse placed his head back in his arms, glaring at the black fabric covering his skin. He didn't feel any anger towards the green haired homunculus. He yearned to, but he just… couldn't. It was as if his mind wouldn't let him, as if all the frustration was just seeping out slowly and he was _forgiving _Envy without realizing it. He knew that he should absolutely _loathe _the creature, but he couldn't… no matter how hard he tried.

But then, as he thought more, he suddenly realized that he would have never been in this situation if he didn't listen to his brother. He wouldn't have ever been eaten by the Gate, he wouldn't have been stuck in a suit of armor for five years, he wouldn't have lost his memory, he wouldn't have lost his brother for three years, he wouldn't have met Envy, he wouldn't have committed to Envy's deal, he wouldn't have gone through nearly a month of absolute agony, he wouldn't have_ killed _someone if he didn't listen to his brother.

It was all Edward's fault!

If Edward hadn't talked him into _transmuting _his own _mother, _in some wild hope that she would magically come back to life, his life wouldn't be completely falling apart at the seams. Human Transmutation was forbidden for a reason!

It was Edward's fault completely and he deserved some sort of punishment, some sort of exchange for putting his own little brother through a living hell. Edward deserved to have his soul put into a tin can, where he couldn't live like a real human being. Edward deserved to lose five years of his life and wake up in a hospital where everyone gave him looks of sympathy, for reasons he didn't understand. Edward deserved to be hopelessly, utterly alone, any aspect of even the slightest bit happiness torn away from him. Edward _deserved_ to be put through a month of extreme _pain_, where his mind was in _oblivion_ while trying to grasp at last strands of _sanity_.

Alphonse suddenly came back to reality, his unfocused vision slamming back into him as he gasped for air, his body held so tense that it felt like it would snap. An overwhelming feeling of guilt crashed on him, twisting his insides into knots. What the hell was that? Where did that all come from? What was wrong with him?

He wanted to scream to the heavens; take back everything he just thought. He had never in his life been so disgusted with himself. Edward probably went through even worse than Alphonse ever had, and here he was cursing something that was worse than death, his own _brother. _His brother who, in desperation and haste, transmuted Alphonse's soul so he could have another chance at life.

Alphonse ran a hand through his bangs, breathed deeply and forced himself to relaxed, the sound of rain rushing over him, calming his senses, literally cooling his head… everything was going to be alright, he told himself. Edward was back now, he had all he needed. He didn't need pity, or anger, or anything… he just needed his brother with him, in the same city, at least and he would do fine. And he had that, so he was better than fine. He was brilliant.

"Alphonse?"

He jerked upright, startled by the voice. Standing there in the rain was Clara… not Lust. Her mouth was set into a frown, her eyes empty, as usual. She knelt down, holding her umbrella over both of their heads, even though he was already soaked.

Alphonse tensed slightly as her hand reached out to his, pulling something out of his weak grip. He watched in a little bit of curiosity as she placed the object in her trench coat pocket. It was then he realized that it had been the murder weapon. He looked away in shame, all of his previous confidence gone. He had completely forgotten he still had it.

"Are you alright?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine," he paused, staring across the street again. "Well, not fine." He answered in a strained voice. "I…"

"It's okay. I get it," Clara cut him off and he attempted to smile in thanks, but he couldn't.

They fell into silence; the only sound in the night was of the rain pelting down on the city and a car off in the distance. It was Alphonse who spoke up first."Did you…" he reconsidered his words for a moment, then continued. "Did you ever… kill anyone before?"

"Yes." Her answer was quick and emotionless, catching him off guard for a moment. He blinked and looked up at her, but she didn't look back.

"It was about two months ago," she muttered and he quietly stared down at his hands. "Envy and Greed were there too… but Lust was controlling me… there was nothing I could do."

"Was it because you didn't listen to him?" Alphonse asked. "Envy – I mean."

He heard Clara shake her head."What happened tonight wasn't a punishment. Envy was going to make you kill that man either way," Clara let out a breath. "I tried to hold this off for as long as I could – he wanted to do this for a long time, but you were still bed-ridden back then so I managed to talk him out of it until now."

Alphonse stared at her incredulously, but then it all sank in and he grimaced. "I can't believe I hadn't realized... but, thank you."

"In that state of mind… it's only human that you couldn't. And don't worry, you're not the only one, I fell for his trick as well," Clara murmured, then laughed coldly. "We were controlled, like we're his little puppets. I should've noticed it earlier… perhaps I could've done something."

Alphonse couldn't find anything to say, so he remained silent, listening to the rain pounding against the umbrella above his head. He was still soaked and was beginning to shiver, but he didn't notice. He did notice, however, footsteps that were steadily coming closer.

He looked up and down the street for the source of the sound, but saw no one. He frowned in confusion and was about to ask Clara if he was going insane, when someone dropped down in front of him, just missing his toes, earning a surprised squeak from him.

Whoever it was didn't stay still for long and stumbled backwards as someone else jumped in from behind Alphonse, aiming for the first person. There was a dangerous silence as the two strangers stared each other down, the first one – who was dressed in all black and a bizarre red and white mask - panting heavily, while the other stayed motionless.

"Greed?" Clara stood up and Alphonse could feel the tension in the wet air rise.

Whoever was in the mask, was staring at Greed, then at Clara, then Alphonse, backing away at the same time. He or she was obviously stressing out, his or her eyes darting around wilding. Then, suddenly, there was a loud explosion and Alphonse instinctively raised his arms to cover his face. He felt moist air rush to him, dirt particles and small rocks cutting into his skin. He peeked out from behind his arms and could see nothing but a cloud of dust. He waved a hand in front of his face, trying to clear the muck from the air, while covering his mouth and nose with his other arm. It seemed to work and after a few seconds; the crud cleared and he found only Clara next to him. Greed and the masked stranger were gone.

"Are you okay, Alphonse?" Clara asked, pulling him to his feet, steering him quickly across the street, not giving him much time to figure out what had just happened.

Alphonse could now see lights turning on in windows, some people sticking their heads out to see what the commotion was. Thankfully, no windows lit up in Winry's apartment. He was suddenly aware of something warm and wet drip down his left arm, a slight surprise in contrast to the icy rain. He looked down to see a large rip in his shirt, revealing a gash in his arm, where blood was oozing out and mixing with the rain. As his eyes trailed along the rest of his appendage, he began to notice small pebbles dug into his skin. He winced, the sight bringing along the stinging pain.

"Ouch," he muttered, pressing his glove to the cut, guesstimating at the depth. He prayed it wasn't too deep, he didn't feel like stitches.

Suddenly, he gasped as there a hot feeling spread all over his arm, and on small places on the rest of his body. It wasn't painful, in fact it seemed to get rid of some of the pain, but it was still unpleasant. Soon the warm feeling turned numb and he thought for a moment he had somehow done Alchemy as blue arcs of energy made themselves clear in the air, crackling over his broken skin.

It was then that he realized what was happening, as he watched in horror as the rocks were squeezed from his skin, dropping to the ground with small 'ticks', the small dots of open skin closing themselves. He watched his own blood from the ground darted back into his arm like magnets attracting each other. Then, once that had finished the gash started to sew itself together, as if an invisible nurse was stitching him up. And then… it was as if nothing had ever happened, his skin back to normal: perfect, not a flaw.

----

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT!!!

I'm also sorry it's so late… I know I promised it would be out soon… but… yeah.

How many people picked up on Al's… 'condition'? I hope not a lot… I really wanted it to be a surprise, but I think I've made it too obvious in earlier chapters. Ah well. If this had been one of your suspicions, then you're correct; congrats!

Anyway, please review, sorry if it's rushed…

--Renneh

PS: I'LL TRY TO GET NEXT CHAPTER OUT SOONER!! I can't make any promises though…


	8. Gone

----

**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom **_

7. Gone

"That doesn't seem right…"

Edward looked up curiously from his plate and swallowed the sausage in his mouth. The young man across from Edward had his blue eyes set on the papers spread out across the table, his lips curved in an unsettled line.

"Sorry?" Edward asked, blinking.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing… just the schematics of that new engine Markus was talking about. There's no efficient way for the fuel to actually get where it's supposed to go… all he'd need to is move that over there… or take it out completely." Alfons paused and finally looked up from the papers then chuckled sheepishly. "I got carried away again didn't I?"

Edward couldn't help but smile a little at his friend's soft, embarrassed laugh. "Not as much as usual, don't worry."

"Okay, that's good."Alfons nodded to himself and picked at his food as he looked back at the notes. The two fell into silence again and Edward fell into the familiar state of melancholy. Even after a year of staying with Heidrich, it still gave him chills when he was with Alfons; how the German reminded him so much of home.

It was funny how only two years ago Edward was stubbornly trying to convince Winry that he didn't have a place to call home. And now here he was, a countless amount of miles away from 'home'. Anywhere but here would be home… anywhere in the other parallel dimension would be home.

No, he corrected himself. Where the actual Gracia Hughes lived, where the actual Maes Hughes was dead, where the actual Alphonse Elric was… was…For what had to be the millionth time, Edward felt the desperate, restless panic chew at his insides. He didn't know whether Alphonse, _his _Alphonse was alive, or dead, or stuck at the Gate, or something possibly even worse. And that's why he had to get back. As soon as possible. He had made a promise seven years ago, to his very own mother, on her _deathbed_ that he would take care of Alphonse. He sighed inwardly. So far it wasn't coming along very nicely, but maybe he would be able to redeem himself.

-----

_**September 18, 1917**__**, 7**__**:00am – Central**____** Amestris**_

Edward awoke to the sour feeling of nausea. His stomach bubbled and groaned as if his stomach acid was being boiled. For a few minutes, he just lay there, trying desperately to fight off the urge to vomit, but eventually the intensity faded away.

The first thing he noticed was that he was _not_in his own bed. It quite easy to tell, there weren't any sheets and he was covered in a thin blanket instead of the familiar comforter. The pillow was _way _to squishy for his taste and seemed to engulf his head. Not only that, it seemed he wasn't even on a bed, but some sort of couch.

He tried to recall the events of the night earlier and was quite thankful when more than the night before came rushing back. That was right, he was back in Amestris, Alphonse was alive. But… he remembered having Winry's delicious dinner and apple pie, then going with Mustang to a bar… the rest was a blur. _That _wasn't good.

With a sigh, he cracked his eyes open, Winry's apartment coming into view. From where he was laying, on his stomach, the right side of his face pressed into the couch, he could see the window, which provided very little light as the curtains were pulled over the glass. Directly in front of him was the coffee table, then another couch. Everything was as he remembered it before he left, save the pack of cards strewn across the floor to the side.

Edward groaned. Pushing himself onto his elbows took him a moment, even his flesh arm feeling like a paperweight, but he managed and groggily looked up, toward the kitchen, just in time to see Winry walk into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Winry greeted haughtily, her cerulean eyes avoiding his bloodshot ones.

"'Morning," Edward replied in a hoarse voice, but she ignored it, stopping at the island in the middle of the tiny kitchen.

He watched as she roughly opened a cupboard and pulled out a cup. She slammed the door shut – he winced at the noise - and turned on the tap, waiting for the water to turn cold. She tested it with her fingers before tipping her cup in. Once it was filled, she turned the water off and sipped from the glass, all the while glaring at him.

"…is there something wrong?" He asked, cautiously sitting up, not wanting to upset his head – this wasn't the first time he stepped into the hangover business.

"Funny," she growled sarcastically, putting the cup down on the counter a little harder than necessary. "Act as if you don't remember!"

"Act as if I remember what?" Edward repeated slowly.

Her eyebrow twitched as she searched his face and slowly, a rosy color began to rise in her cheeks. She took a tense breath and closed her eyes for a moment, as if to calm herself.

"What _do _you remember from last night?" She asked, drumming her fingers on the counter in an anxious way.

Just to humor her, he thought back, and really tried to remember. But, all he could recollect was being at the bar, then waking up on her couch.

He blinked back to reality and Winry's flushed face came back into focus. Almost immediately, Edward felt as if a boulder had dropped into his stomach. His horror must've shown on his face, for Winry looked down awkwardly.

"Winry… _please…_ don't tell me I did something to hurt Al," he whispered, standing shakily.

"What?" Her head snapped up violently and he cocked his head, confused. Her surprised look melted and she seemed to deflate. "So you really don't remember?" Her voice was quieter than before, almost disappointed.

Edward shook his head. "No… what did I do…?"

Winry spilt out the rest of her water and placed the cup in the sink. "Nothing. You were just being an idiot. Now, go wake Al up and make yourselves some breakfast. I have to go to work."

Somehow, Edward got the feeling she wasn't telling him something important, but didn't get the chance to say anything as she walked straight to the door and left, shutting it with a slam. He winced as the loud sound rang in his sensitive ears and then sighed when he realized he really _did _do something wrong.

But… what did he do? Sadly, because of all the fun he had with Mustang –'s subordinates – he couldn't remember most of the night. And as hard as he thought, he just _couldn't _remember what he did to make Winry mad. He did know that whatever he did was exceptionally horrid, since she was at that point where she was past violence. He knew from (very) few experiences that when Winry was so mad she didn't throw her wrench around, it meant he would practically have to fall on his knees and beg mercifully for her forgiveness.

And Edward _really _didn't want to fall on his knees and beg mercifully for her forgiveness. But luckily, he had arrived at Alphonse's room, where his little brother would hopefully be able to give him some advice to cheer Winry up.

"Hey Al, time to get up," he called softly – well, as softly as someone could when they sounded like there was a frog in their through - and knocked on the door. "Al?"

Edward came to a sudden realization that it was the first time in seven years that he had to wake Alphonse up. He paused as he started to turn the doorknob, frozen in shock. It didn't _feel _that long, but now that he thought about it…

He grimaced and shook his head to clear his thoughts. Alphonse was back in his body and Edward was home; '_I should be grateful_', he thought to himself and pushed the door open all the way, stretching his face into a grin.

"Wakey-wakey eggs and-"

Edward cut himself off and his smile disappeared as he stood there, holding the door wide open as bone chillingly cold air rushed to meet him, instead of a cuddly little brother. He frowned in confusion, his brow knotting together as he surveyed the bedroom. The two drawers in the wardrobe were pulled out, shirts and pants sprawled around on the floor, leaving nothing inside, while the top drawer – for underwear and socks – was stocked full except for one lone corner. The bookshelf beside the wardrobe was slightly bare compared to the explosion-waiting-to-happen from a day ago, the suitcase that had been resting at the foot of the bed was gone and window by the bed was open, letting chilly air seep in.

Last but not least, there on the bed was a lone piece of paper that looked quite out of place on the neatly made blanket. Even though Edward was two feet away, he could easily make out the bold, yet shaky black lettering which spelt out,

_'I'm sorry Brother.'_

**_September 18, 1917 7:05am – Central, Amestris_**

Winry stomped down the stairs and let out a sigh, trying very hard to ignore the lump in the back of her throat. She clenched and unclenched her fists as she made her way over to the front door to unlock it and open the shop. She didn't know why she was so upset; she didn't know what she would've done in Edward remembered that he had kissed her the night before. She knew it was better that he didn't remember.

Of course, there was no denying that she loved him. There was no denying that her heart soared and the little Winry inside of her danced with joy when those words left his mouth. But, if she and Edward got together… where would that leave Alphonse? Even thinking of the situation made her feel awkward.

She sighed again and took out her appointment book, sitting down on the stool behind the display counter and flipping a list of customers. She had to concentrate; she was already behind on most of her orders, even though she had had Ran Fan helping her with most of the walk-ins on the day Edward returned.

Jimmy at eight o'clock for maintenance on his leg… Lillian right afterwards at eight thirty for maintenance for her new elbow joint… Peter at nine for another information session befor surgery… Danny at…

He couldn't have meant it, could he? Edward was drunk; people acted differently when they were drunk and she knew, oh she knew, Edward was acting differently last night. But even drunk, he would never _kiss_her… it just… defied all Edward Elric laws.

Thankfully, the jingling of the bell above the door woke her up and she sat up straighter, putting a smile on her face to welcome the first customer of the morning. She looked up, took a breath and opened her mouth, but all words left her and she stared.

"…_Wrath?_"

**_September 18, 1917 7:05am – Central, Amestris_**

Alphonse slowly and carefully took the needle, observing its sharp point as it glinted in the early morning rays, then suddenly plunged it down, tearing at the red, ripping out the black, feeling utterly blank.

He wasn't sure at the time if it had been the right decision to leave, but he knew now that it had been better than staying at Winry's. Perhaps it had been too much to take his largest suit case, extra clothes, all the money he had and his most prize possessions (mostly books and journals), but he didn't know how long he was going to be away… if he was even going back.

Mrs. Penelope, the pleasant inn keeper had had quite the surprise when he walked into her humble abode at close to three, asking for a room at such an hour. But she immediately gave him a room without question and he smiled politely, expressed his thanks and bid her good night, his body on autopilot while his mind twisted in turmoil.

Alphonse winced as the needle gently poked his skin for the billionth time, but quickly got over it and continued on in his messy work. He was hoping the whole process would be cleaner, easier to do, but recently his expectations were turned down, along with this expectation.

He didn't know it would be so painful either. He couldn't deny the fact he had shed tears – no sobbing, he didn't have the energy - as he dug in the needle, shivering at the cold on his bare arms… he honestly thought he was stronger than that. Then again…

He shook his head. He would have to get used to… killing. Even though for the past four hours he had been training himself, he still shuddered at the word. But yes, since he was now a Homunculus, he had to get used to… killing.

A rather violent tremble shook through his body and the needle slipped from his fingers, pricking his palm. He quietly cursed and jerked away from the metal toothpick, watching as a small dribble of blood ran down his hand. He grimaced at the warm feeling flooding from his chest, to his wound and watched grimly as it closed itself together, small arcs of energy delicately dancing over his skin.  
**_  
_**_That _was something he was going to have to get used to too. Clara said it didn't take very long, but Alphonse begged to differ. He sighed and repositioned the needle in his fingers and looked down at his work, slightly surprised to see that he was already finished. The small, but slightly painful tool was instantly dropped to the ground and warm fabric replaced its place.

Alphonse lifted the blood red jacket away from his body at arms length, reviewing his amateur work. Before, where the black snake was wrapped around a cross, his teacher's symbol, where it was stitched into the fabric, was gone, some small strings poking out here and there.

His mouth set in a thin line; he laid it back down on his lap and sat there. Just… sat there. It was over, he realized as the sun continued to shine light in his dark room. Done, finished, the end, _over._

That was it.

And to think; he expected the end of his life to be more… dramatic. Now, he was going to be thirteen for the rest of eternity, just like how Envy had been and would be eighteen for eternity.

Meanwhile, his brother would go on, perhaps find a girl – Winry would be a good pick - study more alchemy, maybe join the military again, settle down, have an adorable baby girl or boy, send his child off to school, retire and grow old with his wife until he eventually died knowing his life wasn't wasted.

Alphonse smiled to himself, picturing Edward as a father, little blond feet padding to his bedroom to wake him up to start another day. But… Alphonse wondered what the little girl or boy would think of their uncle, who was thirteen years old all the time. When they would be three; he would be thirteen, when they would be ten; he would be thirteen, when they would be fifteen; he would be thirteen. They would notice at some point. No doubt Edward and Winry would notice…

That's why he wouldn't go back. It was for the better. Alphonse didn't want Edward to think his transmutation screwed up… did it? Alphonse himself wasn't even sure…

He looked down at his right arm and traced the crimson mark of the Ouroborus on his bicep. It didn't hurt anymore, which was good, but it still looked sore. The skin was tight, twisted and scared in one small area, around the edges, as if it were stretched, but not broken.

It was because of the Ouroborus that Alphonse got rid of the Flamel, his teacher's signature. The Flamel was a symbol that summed up "All is One, One is All", that life had a flow, when someone died, they didn't come back to life. The Ouroborus was the opposite, the snake eating its own tail meaning eternal life.

And yet, even though that mark was on his arm, and even though he couldn't die, Alphonse had never been like that from the start. No, he had been human for all of his life, up until a month ago. Or maybe he really had been a Homunculus from when his brother 'brought him back' and the signs just started showing up the month earlier…

As much as Alphonse wanted to dwell over the unsettling subject, he was pulled out of his thoughts as a sudden knock echoed around his room. He started, feeling his blood cold in panic. Edward couldn't have found his note so soon, could he?

Another knock sounded and he winced, standing up, pulling his black jacket on over his sleeveless shirt. He walked over to the door and peered in the peek-hole. Much to his surprise and slight disappointment, instead of seeing a head of blond as expected, brown and pink invaded his vision.

He sank back from his tip-toes and furrowed his brow in confusion, totally not expecting that. Though, in curiosity, he quickly unlocked the latch and swung the door open. The girl standing there jumped and turned to him, large amethyst eyes locking into his in surprise.

"Rose?"

**A/N: **Okay, I'm seriously too lazy to write a witty remark down here, so just the usual, sorry it's so short/late and please review!


	9. Wanted

----

**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

**_Venom_**

8. Wanted

**_September 18, 1917, 7:00am – Central Amestris_**

"Boss!"

Mustang looked up from his papers, straightening himself from his lazy position as Lieutenant Jean Havoc hurtled into his office, panting and spluttering as he jogged up to Mustang's desk, his face uncharacteristically set in a frantic expression.

"Second Lieutenant, there seems to be a problem," Hawkeye noted, calm as ever.

"Yeah, more… than a… problem," Havoc wheezed while lighting a cigarette with shaking hands. "It's a…bout that murder… down in the South… end."

Mustang quirked an eyebrow, now much more curious than before. Havoc wasn't even assigned to that case, nor was it even assigned to the _military_, but to the main police force since it was just a homeless man who had been killed, no one important. It had to be big if Havoc was concerned about it and the words 'Havoc' and 'concerned' almost never went in the same sentence.

"What is it?" Mustang ordered, putting his pen down.

"I don't even know how this information got to me… it just… did." Havoc sighed, plopping himself down into the chair in front of Mustang's desk, seeming to finally regain his breath. "Apparently the officers investigating the case have already picked out three main suspects and they've already sent out search teams."

"Unless this about one of your supposed ex-girlfriends, then I really don't have the time for this, Havoc." Mustang grumbled, foreseeing where it was headed.

"No, no. It's much worse," Havoc protested. "They questioned a bunch of bums; they all said the same thing. A Xingese kid, this tall, blond chick and the main suspect is-"

"Havoc!" Mustang snapped, getting tired of his Lieutenant dragging the story out.

"Alphonse Elric."

**_September 18, 1917, 7:30am – Central Amestris_**

Alphonse stared silently out the window, watching people walk by as Rose sipped on her cup of green tea. The air was thick with tension, so much so that Alphonse dared to say he could 'cut it with a butter knife'. But 'he could barely dent it with a jackhammer' seemed to work better, in his opinion anyway.

Her tranquil gaze on him was unnerving to say the least and Alphonse wasn't sure how much longer he until he would break. _'Is she still watching me?'_ he thought as his eyes slid in her direction. That was a yes, he confirmed as her lips curved upwards warmly. He smiled weakly back.

"So, I-"

"How've y-"

They both started their sentences and stopped before they could get more than two words out of their mouths. Rose giggled into the back of her hand and put her cup on the table after taking another sip.

"Sorry," Alphonse apologized, sheepishly toying with a fork to do something with his hands. "You go first."

"Okay," her playfulness seemed to fade slightly, into something more serious, but she still wore the smile. "I was just wondering whether you've had any luck… with…"

"Oh, Brother's back, if that's what you were asking," Alphonse cut her off casually.

"That's wonderful!" She erupted, absolutely beaming. "Since when?"

"A few days ago. He's staying at Winry's," he replied hesitantly.

"But… if he's there, then why are you here?"

"I, um, just needed some time away to think," he answered quietly. It wasn't a complete lie. "But it would mean a lot to me if you didn't tell him where I am…"

Rose stared at him for a moment, a look of sympathy on her face. For some reason the look on her face made him feel guilty… but he wasn't sure why. The same reason he felt sad when a child started crying; just his nature to cheer people up. Along with many other things of his past life, he would have to get rid of that too

"Did you guys have fight or something?" She asked softly.

"No… he didn't do anything at all. Like I said, I just need some time to clear my head." He looked away, out the window where he couldn't see her face.

"Okay," she said heavily, nodding. "I cut you off too back there, you were starting to say something?"

"Right," he smiled weakly, glancing back at her. She took the hint to end the Edward topic.

But before he could open his mouth again, he noticed her eyes dart away from him, a look of confusion and alertness quickly changing her features.

"What the hell is that idiot doing…" she muttered it so quietly Alphonse barely picked it up. But he definitely heard it.

"Sorry?"

Rose's eyes snapped back to him and she smiled, but this time it wasn't as warm as before. "Sorry, I just…"

"What is it?" Alphonse demanded as her gaze trailed back to where she was looking, just behind him, outside.

The fake smile grew even more uneasy as she stood up, clenching the straps of her bag tightly in her hands. "I'm sorry Al, I'm not feeling too great, I think I'll head back to my hotel-"

Alphonse didn't hear the rest of her sentence, for two things happened at once; a rock wall shot up in front of her and a bright light consumed his vision before everything went black.

**_September 18, 1917, 7:10am – Central Amestris_**

"Edward! Where are you go-"

The door closed with a slam, leaving Winry and Wrath alone in the automail shop. Winry had quite the scare when Edward came barreling down the stairs, shouting something absolutely incoherent before he flew out the door.

Winry thought about going after him, but sighed sadly and shook her head, returning back to the quick fix-up on Wrath's wrist. She bit her lip, feeling her heart pound in her chest, not only from the sudden sounds and excitation, but from the slight sensation of hope that rose in her when she heard him thump down the stairs. She thought that maybe he remembered the night before… but of course, she was wrong.

"Winry."

The screwdriver in her fingers clattered to the counter loudly as she snapped up in alert. The first word she heard from Wrath in over two years made her – almost – forget about Edward.

"Yes!" She beamed at his usual gloomy expression. "Is there anything else that needs to be tightened?"

"The arm can wait, there's something important you need to know," he muttered, his large violet eyes swimming with seriousness.

Winry blinked, her smile fading as she settled back into her seat. After a moment of getting over her shock, she nodded, sensing the urgency in his voice.

"Something bad is going to happen," he said quietly, standing up as a deafeningly loud rumble shook the shop, making the lights flicker and the jar of screws fall over.

**_September 18, 1917, 7:00am – Central Amestris_**

Edward didn't know where he was going, his feet were just carrying him, he was on autopilot as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

Alphonse… he left… but why? What was wrong? Did he really do something to Alphonse, but Winry wasn't telling him? Edward cursed out loud and quickened his pace, ignoring the strange looks people gave him. He didn't care, he just had to find his brother, he just had to-

"Good morning, Edward."

Letting out a rough breath to control his annoyance, he stopped and turned around to see Ran Fan. He was about to tell her to go away, but stopped, surprised at what he saw.

A white bandage was wrapped around her forehead, along with on random spots across her face. He wasn't sure if there were any other injuries on the rest of her, for she was wearing a long sleeved, red turtleneck and a long, black skirt. But the way her left hand was bent in an awkward position, the automail glinting in the early sun, he knew that it was broken.

"What happened?"

Her dark eyes sharpened for a moment and she shook her head. "Nothing that you should worry about, but thank you for your concern."

Edward pursed his lips in annoyance and was about to start looking for Alphonse again, when all of a sudden a great rush of air from behind him, a loud bang and the startled look on Ran Fan's face made him stop.

Well, stop was an understatement.

The force of the roaring wind slid him forwards, nearly knocking him over. His vision was blurred as dust and rubble flew into eyes, making them water like mad. Not only that, he managed to breathe in the crud too, sending him into a coughing fit as he spat out the dirt.

"_Shit,_" He heard Ran Fan hiss, suddenly at his side as screams started up around them. He was roughly tugged to his feet as he blindly rubbed at his eyes. "C'mon! Get up!"

Edward opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, squinting as the dust cleared, giving him a glimpse of where a building once stood a few meters down the street. He cursed and straightened up. He was barely any distance from Winry's apartment; any closer and she could've been hurt.

"…This isn't good," Ran Fan whispered, suddenly letting go of his arm.

His head snapped back up again as something in the endless fog of dust caught in the corner of his eye. Someone was walking towards them, nothing more than a silhouette, but the way he walked, cool and collected, suggested he was more dangerous than he lead on.

"Well, well, long time no see," at first, Edward thought the person was talking to him, but realized he didn't recognize the Xingese accented voice. Then it clicked. Ran Fan.

"Edward, go," she breathed, her voice dangerously low.

"Yes, Mr. Elric, it might just save your life." The stranger chuckled darkly.

To Edward's slight surprise, the stranger walking up to them was didn't seem to be any older than himself. The Xingese boy and despite his young appearance, the unfamiliar atmosphere around him told Edward to watch his back. Especially since a bomb had just gone off only a few feet away and the boy didn't have a scratch on him.

"What you want?" Ran Fan growled suddenly.

"Can't a man just walk around and do what he likes around here?" The boy put his hands out, palms up as he shrugged, his mouth spread into a grin, matching his emotionless eyes as he stopped, just in front of them.

Before Edward could even blink, let alone raise a finger to do anything, the boy's arm shot out, grabbing Ran Fan by the collar of her shirt, lifting her effortlessly to her toes. She glared at him.

"Hey!" Edward snapped, clamping his hand on the boy's arm. "Let her go."

Suddenly, a smack echoed through the air and the three seemed to freeze. Edward stared. He didn't even see Ran Fan's automail fist go for the boy's head, but what was even more surprising, the boy didn't even flinch. Instead, it was Ran Fan's arm that was shaking and as Edward's eyes trailed up to the boy's face, he felt his blood run cold.

"…Greed…"

The skin around Ran Fan's fist was an even, familiar coal color and looked like black concrete; The Ultimate Shield. Millions of questions ran through Edward's head as he stared, unbelieving as black eyes slid down to meet his, the grin on Greed's face widening.

"Good, now that we're all acquainted, you'll want to know that Alphonse is probably doing fine."

Greed was on the ground in seconds, pinned under Edward's legs, the metal fingers of his automail arm tightly wrapped around the homunculus's neck. For a moment, Greed's eyes were wide with surprise, but they narrowed and he smirked.

"You fucking bastard," Edward hissed, rage welling to an unbearable point in his chest as he tightened his grip. "Where the hell is Alphonse? What did you do with my brother!"

Greed didn't say anything, grinning now from ear to ear, silently taunting the former FullMetal Alchemist. Edward growled, lifting the homunculus's head from the ground and slamming it back down, but as he predicted, there was no blood from Greed's tough skin.

"What do you want him for? He's not even in a suit of armor anymore – is that it? Do you want your soul transmuted into armor? How many times do I have to tell you! I won't transmute your soul – you don't have one – you're a homunculus – you're fake! _Give him back!_" Edward was nearly hysterical as he panted, his whole body trembling in anger. Yet, after screaming his lungs out and shaking Greed so hard that it would've killed a normal being, the homunculus just smiled eerily up at him, as if completely oblivious.

"Wow, the bitch was right!" Greed laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Edward growled, narrowing his eyes.

"That's him, he matches the description."

Edward jumped slightly at the unfamiliar voice, but didn't budge as strong fingers wrapped around his upper arm.

"Xingese immigrant, you are ordered to come with us. FullMetal, we need to talk."

Mustang's voice came as a surprise and as another pair of hands guided him away from the homunculus a pair of police officers jumped on Greed. Edward found himself in shock for a moment, but then charged back into action. He lunged forward, heading straight for Greed, but was roughly pulled back by the collar of his shirt, nearly making him fall over.

"Let me go!" Edward snarled, thrashing around in Mustang's tight grip. "Let me go! He has Al, _let me go!_"

The officers in front of him exchanged glances with Mustang as they pulled Greed to his feet and in one quick movement, the General had turned Edward around, seizing onto his shoulders forcefully.

"Alphonse isn't with you?" Mustang demanded in a low, serious tone while Edward blinked, taken aback at the action.

"No!" Edward snapped, after regaining his anger. "I just _said _the Homunculi have him! Locking Greed up won't do anything to help!"

"Homunculi? Greed?" Mustang repeated, now his turn to look stunned. "The only homunculus left is Wrath."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I was wrong." Edward shrugged out of Mustang's hands and watched furiously as Greed was shoved into a car, still grinning like mad. Edward folded his arms, clenching his fists tightly to let out some irritation as he turned back around to face Mustang.

"General, what do you want with Al?"

Instead of the words coming out of Edward's mouth, it was Winry who spoke as she walked up to them, Ran Fan beside her. From the expression on her face, Edward couldn't tell if his mechanic was angry or concerned. He guessed it to be both.

"Is someone going to answer my question or am I going to have to force it out of one of you?" Winry asked, her voice rising as she shifted her gaze over to Mustang, then back to Edward. "Well?"

"Actually, I'd like to find out as well," Edward replied quietly, glaring at Mustang, who had a frown etched deep into his features.

"There was a homicide last night on the other side of the city," the raven haired man sighed, sounding as if he was exhausted, making worry warp Edward's insides. "Multiple witnesses claim they heard a gun shot… and immediately after they say a teenage boy with long hair wearing all black ran out of the alley in which the homicide took place. They also say the boy had a gun."

Edward blinked as he gazed at Mustang, although not quite seeing his former supervisor. Beside him, Winry gasped and Ran Fan remained solemnly silent, yet it didn't quite register in his mind.

"Sorry… could you repeat that for me?" Edward asked breathlessly, moving his bangs out of his eyes.

"Al's wanted for homicide," Mustang said quietly.

Edward dropped his head, blocking Mustang's apologetic face from his view and stared at the ground, his chest tightening.

"That's bullshit," he growled, breathing heavily. "This isn't a fucking joke, bastard!" Edward snapped, unable to take it any longer, launching forward and grabbing Mustang by the front of his shirt. "Quit the smug act, it isn't funny!"

"We're doing everything we can to fix this, but we need to hear Alphonse's story before we can clear his name," Mustang explained, his voice returned back to the usual 'I don't give a care' as he placed a firm hand on top of Edward's wrist.

Edward felt Winry tug him away from Mustang, but he quickly shrugged her off, stepping back up to the General, glaring up at him. "Al's gone." Edward didn't budge as Winry scolded him. "So you're going to have to help me in finding him if you want to interrogate him, and after we _do _find Al, you're going to need _my _consent to talk to him."

"We'll help you find him, but we don't need your permission to ask him simple questions," Mustang said in an equally threatening tone, staring down at Edward with his one eye.

"I'm his only family left, and a legal adult, so that would make me his guardian," Edward snapped, stepping even closer.

"You may be a legal adult, but you're still acting like a child, FullMetal," Mustang murmured quietly, not budging as Edward stepped into his personal space. 

"Sir," Hawkeye jogged up to them, officially cutting Edward's next retort off. She stalled for a moment, looking slightly confused at the scene in front of her, but seemed to regain her seriousness, snapping into a salute.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Mustang stepped away from a still fuming Edward.

"Twenty four casualties in total from the blast, possibly more." Hawkeye droned in her usual monotone, but her tawny eyes showed a hint of worry. "Ten survivors with life threatening injuries, the rest of the survivors with minor cuts and bruises."

"I take it there's something else?" The General inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"The Penelope Inn seemed to be where the bomb exploded from," Hawkeye was quieter now, but instead of talking directly to Mustang, she seemed to be talking to Edward as well. "And there is evidence of Alphonse having been across the street when it went off."

---

A MONTH! I'M SO SORRY!! There is no excuse for this, but hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner now that it's Christmas break. Speaking of which, I hope everyone will have happy holidays and that they remember that **reviews are great gifts.**

--Renneh  



	10. Monster Hospital

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**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

**_Venom_**

9. Monster Hospital

**_September 18, 1917, 10:00am – Central Amestris_**

Alphonse barely felt himself come round, and when he did, he was met with heavy silence. Though, as he listened, he faintly heard someone breathing – their breath much deeper than his own, as if they were sleeping. He weakly opened his eyes halfway to a blur of white and he blinked uncomfortably at the sticky feeling at the corner of his eyelids. He swallowed, his throat dry, as he tried to lift his arm to rub at his eyes, but found his limbs wouldn't move. Confused, he blearily looked down to see blue straps around his wrists, sticking out against all of the white. There were straps on his ankles too, keeping him to the bed.

Alphonse knew he was starting to panic as his breathing sped up and knew he should've calmed himself down, but as he tried to turn his head, he felt it could barely move, like his arms and legs. He's was strapped down by the head too, indicating something was very wrong.

"Oh, thank goodness. You're awake."

"Rose?"

The brown and pink haired girl stepped into view, wearing a very elaborate gown of white silk, frills, golden trim. It looked like it belonged to royalty – at least, compared to her plain beige dress from earlier.

"What's going on?" Alphonse asked, his voice slurring. "Where are we?"

"A hospital," Rose replied, folding her hands and placing them behind her back.

For the first time since he woke up, he actually looked around the room. Nearly everything was completely white, except for the door, which looked like it was made of metal. There seemed to be a window directly across from the door, but the blinds were pulled shut, so it wasn't providing any light. Looking up, there was a single light bulb. There were shelves pushed up against the wall to his right which held bottles and jars, all of them full with different colored liquids. There were also medical instruments, like syringes, scalpels and a bunch of other metal sharp stuff that Alphonse knew he didn't want around him. And aside from all that, Alphonse had just noticed that he wasn't lying on his back; the bed was upright, slightly tilted back, almost as if he were standing.

"Why?"

Rose quietly passed him, over to the shelves and started looking at the bottled liquids. Alphonse couldn't see which one she picked up because of the huge hoop in her dress. When she turned around, she held... an empty bottle.

"Rose, what's that for?" He asked, as she walked passed him, towards the metal door, a small smile on her face. 

"Don't worry, it's just a test," she said as she opened the door, not looking back at him. "You'll see in a few moments, Al."

Suddenly, there was a smash as the jar was tossed, shattering at his feet. Alphonse stared at it for a moment, and then looked up, but Rose was gone. Confused, he looked back down at the glass, wondering what she meant by 'test'.

**_September 18, 1917, 8:00am – Central Amestris_**

"Whoa," Mustang said suddenly, throwing his arm out and catching Edward in the chest before he could walk any further. He pulled out a pair of gloves and shoved them into Edward's hands. "Put these on, you don't want to ruin evidence. This is a rare privilege, seeing as you're not with the military anymore."

Edward slipped – well, fought – the rubber gloves on his hands and stared out at the wreckage. When Hawkeye said 'twenty four casualties' he thought the blast site would be much worse, but only the inn and the front half of the restaurant Alphonse was apparently in were crumbled. Some of the neighbouring buildings had some shingles and bricks missing.

Edward personally wouldn't believe that Alphonse was killed in the explosion. Even if the odds were awfully high, he would not believe it. Alphonse was clever; he would've gotten away before the bomb was set off. Winry, much to his surprise, thought the same thing, but she didn't have the chance to go looking for evidence of Alphonse's whereabouts and instead went back to her shop with Ran Fan to try and work.

"Can you let me go now?" Edward asked, glaring up at Mustang.

"Watch where you step and no alchemy what-so-ever." The General warned as his arm returned back to his side.

_'Yeah, yeah, we went over it before,'_ Edward thought, too focused on his task to say it out loud.

He headed straight for the restaurant, conveniently forgetting to watch for anything leading up to it. Edward had no clue what to look for, maybe a piece of red fabric, a hair, anything, but nothing caught his eye. Everything was the same – burnt and crumbled.

But then suddenly something stood out. Narrowing his eyes, he bent down for a further inspection. It was what looked like could've been a wall before the explosion. The only problem was, that as Edward looked around, he figured there was a booth right where the wall was, which would be rather strange if there was a wall in the middle of a table. He leaned back down and he brushed away dust and rubble around the bottom of the former wall. His eyes widened, not really expecting his suspicions to be correct. The floor was distorted, almost like wax, curving up to form the wall. Around that area and the rest of the remaining wall were small, brick like rectangles in the rock, spaced out, not noticeable to a normal person.

However, noticeable to an Alchemist.

"Edward, sir! You're going to want to see this," Kain Fuery's voice echoed over to him, and Edward looked over his shoulder as the shy man hurried over to him.

"What is it?" Edward asked as he stood up, turning toward Fuery.

"A jacket. It was in the rubble of the inn." Fuery replied, showing him a torn and burnt red jacket, then added in a quieter tone. "Sorry for the loss, Edward."

"Thanks," Edward said, smiling as he took the books. "But Al's not dead."

Fuery frowned slightly, but nodded. "If you say so, sir."

"Right, and don't call me 'sir', I'm not a State Alchemist anymore." Edward reminded as he started to walk away, back to where he was before. "And let me know if you find any more stuff you think belonged to Al."

**_September 18, 1917, 10:15am – Central Amestris_**

Alphonse had no clue what was going on. It was less than a minute after Rose left and his head ached, feeling as if he were being spun around even though he was still strapped to the bed, unmoving. His vision swam, going in and out of focus, the room suddenly growing, making him feel small, then suddenly returning to its regular size before becoming huge again. Not only that, but he was starting to hyperventilate for an unknown reason, unable to get enough air into his lungs.

"...R...R-Ro...s...e..." He called weakly between gasps as the room quickly started to darken, and he knew for a fact it wasn't faulty electricity. "...He...l...p..."

Alphonse felt red hot tears beginning to stream down his face as he started to choke, his vision going completely black.

**_September 18, 1917, 10:15am – Central Amestris_**

The waiting room of the old Central hospital was completely empty, save for three people; hell the whole _city _was empty except for five people, but Envy suspected there could be more. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop, or at least it had been silent a few moments earlier. Now faint sounds of struggle made its way to the waiting room from down the hall. Sighing in irritation as the rattling met his ears; Envy slumped farther into his uncomfortable wooden chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This is stupid," he grumbled, earning a silent glance from Lust. "We already know he's going to live through the cyanide poisoning, a fucking chunk of rock went right through his chest and he survived! It's pointless!"

"Now, now, Envy." The Liorian girl put a hand on his shoulder, making him clench his teeth so that he wouldn't explode. "That could've been a fluke, this is just to make sure our method is completely foolproof."

"Then shoot him in the head, why don't you?!" Envy snarled, jumping up angrily.

But before he could do anything, the metal door at the end of the long hall was suddenly blasted off of its hinges with a blinding flash of blue, smashing loudly into the wall across from it. Envy ran a hand through his hair out of relief and annoyance as the younger Elric gracefully stepped over the rubble and into the hall. 

"You got me an Alchemist this time?" It was more of a statement, astonishment in his voice. He strolled lazily up to the three, his hands in his pants pockets, eyes dull and a smirk on his face. "Very nice, Dante. I must say, that new body of yours is fine."

"Thank you," 'Rose' said in a sickeningly sweet tone. It made Envy want to vomit. No, that little brat made him want to vomit. "But tell us, for how long do you think you can have full control?"

"Hmm," Alphonse pursed his lips and pondered for a moment. "He's a fighter, I can tell you that... I'd say fifteen minutes to a half hour at the most."

"Great," Envy growled, throwing his hands up in the air. "We'd might as well get rid of you. I told you this wouldn't work, Dante!"

"Give me a few months." 'Alphonse' said reassuringly and gave Envy a pat on the arm.

"Don't touch me!" Envy snapped, pulling away from his new 'brother'. "A few months is too long. I want to do this now, I want to see the look on that bastard's face!"

"If we do this now, then Alphonse will regain control over his body, which would end badly for us." Lust spoke up quietly, still resting against the wall. "We should wait until he has complete control over the body before we do anything drastic, that way we can do a good performance, unlike your idiotic display earlier."

Envy glared at the woman but returned his death gaze towards the new homunculus. He was starting to hate this guy more than Greed, which was a lot.

"Lust is right," Dante said coldly to Envy. "Blowing up two buildings could've given us away. Or killed me. Not only that, Greed is in jail. It was reckless, Envy, I hope to think you won't do it again."

Envy didn't look at Dante. Instead, he kept his violet eyes level with the dark hazel ones. Envy knew he wasn't going to last three months with this bastard. Living with that fucking _Elric _for a month nearly made him snap. If it hadn't been for the fact that Clara person was there, he would've killed the boy. She was annoying too, but set him straight. This wasn't about Alphonse and how whiny and weak he was – it was about getting revenge. But now that Envy stood in front of the new Alphonse, he knew for a fact he wouldn't be able to stay sane – if he ever _was_ sane – if he was going to be whiny, weak _and _a cocky little bastard like _their _brother.

**__**

**_PART TWO OF VENOM _**

**__**

DECEMBER**_ 14, 1917, 12:00pm – Central Amestris_**

"I'm worried about Edward," Winry said quietly one day.

Ran Fan looked up from her salad to see her blond haired boss and friend staring solemnly outside and across the road. Ran Fan followed her gaze where the former FullMetal Alchemist was stopping random people on the street, pointing to a piece of paper in his hand. He was bundled up in a brown trench coat, scarf, hat and mittens against the harsh temperature of negative fifteen degrees Celsius (5 Fahrenheit).

Ran Fan didn't say anything, but could understand Winry's concern as the man that Edward stopped shook his head and continued walking past him. A flicker of disappointment washed over Edward's face, but he hurried on to the next lady and received the same response.

After General Mustang finally lost his patience with Edward bugging him everyday about Alphonse's whereabouts, Roy forbid him from showing up at the explosion scene, for the restaurant owner had to start rebuilding before the snow came. 

Edward left Central that day to search the rest of Amestris for his brother. That had been September 22nd and he had just returned today – no Alphonse with him – so Winry took a break from work, made Edward lunch and the two sat at the counter of Winry's shop.

But they had barely talked, as Edward had wolfed down his sandwich and immediately headed outside with the most recent photo Winry had of Alphonse. That was when Ran Fan sat down with her when she finished the morning's part of her work.

"Do you think Alphonse is..." Ran Fan trailed off as Winry turned to her untouched sandwich again.

"I don't know," the automail mechanic whispered, putting her forehead in her palms. "I honestly don't know. I mean, I could never tell Ed that, he'd leave again for sure. I want Al to be alive, I'm hoping he's in hiding or something... but if he is, he could at least send us a letter or something. Edward's going to run himself ragged."

Ran Fan remained silent and took a bite of her salad. There was nothing she could say to reassure Winry. Ran Fan knew Alphonse was a homunculus and she knew Winry knew what a homunculus was. But she wouldn't tell Winry – or Edward. Or anyone else for that matter. He was wanted for homicide and if the information that he was a homunculus leaked, it would lead to his death.

Suddenly, the front door opened with a blast of winter air. Ran Fan looked up, alarmed by the cold, to see someone she never expected to.

"Al!"

----

Part one's over; here's part two! Hope you liked this chapter, going to start working on the next one as soon as I upload this. The next one might have some flashbacks for the three months I skipped.

--Renneh


	11. Back, But Gone Again

----

**Summary:** [postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

**_Venom_**

10. Back, But Gone Again

**_December 14, 1917, 12:15pm – Central Amestris_**

"Excuse me, have you seen him?" Edward held out the picture of his grinning little brother, just thirteen at the time, to a middle aged brunette, but she shook her head and hurried off.

Sighing, Edward dropped his arms, defeat crashing down on his shoulders as people bustled past him to get out of the cold. Nearly an hour and everyone he had asked about Alphonse had practically ignored him.

In the past three months he had gone to the neighbouring cities in search of his brother and he had even headed out to Resembool, stayed at Pinako's and looked around there. Yet everywhere he went, it was the same thing: no Alphonse.

But Edward would _not _believe Alphonse was dead. Even if the military had practically filled out Alphonse's death certificate. _Never. _If Alphonse looked for him for three years, going to the ends of Amestris to look for him, then sure as hell Edward would go as far as Xing, or Briggs. He wouldn't stop until he found his brother.

"Edward!" As snow began to fall, Edward looked up to see Winry running towards him, wearing just her jumpsuit and socks.

"Winry, what the hell are you doing, you idiot!" He exclaimed, rushing out to meet her halfway, in the middle of the street. "You'll get sick, it's freezing out here!"

"That's not what's important!" She grabbed onto his wrists, dragging him towards her store, a large grin on her face.

"Winry wait, what's going on?" He demanded, having no other choice than to be lead away by the girl.

"You'll see, just hurry up! It's Al, he's back!"

Edward didn't need any more persuasion and he sprinted the rest of the way.

"Al!" He exclaimed, bursting into the shop, the owner at his heels.

His brother was standing at the counter, talking with Ran Fan when he turned around, a smile on his face.

"Hey, brother," Alphonse laughed, walking over, but Edward tackled him to the floor.

"What do you think you're doing, Al?! Someone will see you!!"

**_December 14, 1917, 12:25pm – Central Amestris_**

"… I'm going to go check on Al," Winry said suddenly as she stood up, randomly stopping Edward in mid sentence.

"I'm pretty sure he can dress himself, Winry," Edward said and rolled his eyes.

"I _know _that." Winry glared at the insult. "But he's been in his room for a while and his hot cocoa will go cold."

Edward sighed, took a sip of his own drink and watched as Winry marched up to Alphonse's room. He expected his brother to come right out as Winry entered without knocking, but the door suddenly snapped shut, leaving Edward alone. He sat there for a moment, blinking, but returned to his cocoa, wincing slightly as he heard Winry's voice rise to a muffled shout. She was obviously not happy with Alphonse. Edward just winced and mentally wished for his brother's safe return.

**_---_**

"Hey Al? Your drink…" Winry as she stepped into the dimly lit room, her eyes landing on Alphonse.

She had just walked in on the younger Elric as he was getting changed, one leg halfway through his pants, wearing nothing but boxers and a black undershirt. He looked up at her words, eyebrows raised expectantly as he waited for her to finish her sentence, but she was frozen. And it wasn't because he was half naked.

"A…Al…" it felt as if the floor had suddenly jolted out from underneath her feet, but before she could collapse, it rushed back, shoving her back up, leaving her dizzy. "…I… you… is that… who…?"

"Winry, what's wrong…?" Alphonse asked worriedly as he fastened the button on his pants, but realisation suddenly washed over him as he straightened up, the concerned look on his face melting into a solemn one.

Winry remembered how to move and she groped numbly behind her, feeling for the small space between the door and the doorjamb, trying to open the door wider. "Edw-"

She was cut off as suddenly Alphonse was mere inches from her, one cool hand tightly clamped over her mouth, pushing her into the wall, the other shutting the door, resting beside her head. Winry let out a shout, but it was silenced by his hand as it pressed harder into her face.

"Shh," Alphonse hushed her and Winry nodded, but her eyes, wide with fear, were on his arm, not his face.

In deep contrast with his pale skin, was the flawless, blood red tattoo of a snake eating its own tail. The first word that came to mind was _Homunculus_.

Alphonse was a Homunculus. Which meant… which meant that Edward's transmutation didn't work. Pictures of Wrath and Izumi immediately flashed into Winry's mind.

"Al, please tell me this is a joke. Please tell me you got that for kicks…" Winry whispered the moment Alphonse lifted his palm away, but he still leaned on the door, around her. "Did you think Wrath's mark was cool? Was that it?"

She looked down, her eyes searching his desperately when he didn't say anything, but they were empty. Nothing, his hazel eyes were glazed over, emotionless.

"Al, no," Winry breathed, but her tone grew louder. "No, Alphonse Elric, don't play with me. No, it's wrong. All wrong. This isn't right." Tears blurred her vision. "Please, Al, tell me you're lying. Al, it has to be a trick, Al. Al? Answer me Alphonse! AL-"

"It's not a trick, Winry." Alphonse said quietly, cutting her off as if she were slapped. "Now, you don't want Brother to worry, do you?" A small smile slipped onto his lips, but his eyes were still gone. "So, stop crying, because you know he hates it when you cry, right?"

The combination of his soft tone and the current situation made her tears fall harder. Alphonse frowned and Winry hurriedly wiped her tears away, but they came back. At the same time, there was a knock at the door and Edward's voice echoed into the room.

"Winry? Al? …Is everything alright in there?"

"Al, what are you going to do?" Winry said, barely a whisper as she desperately tried to gather herself.

"The same you're going to do," Alphonse muttered as he pushed himself away from Winry, putting on his jacket, hiding the tattoo. "Don't tell Brother."

"Al? Winry? Hello?"

Edward's calling got more frantic and Alphonse wrapped an arm around Winry. It was a rather awkward position, as the girl was taller than him. Winry shivered, but not because of their height. His chest and thin arm were like ice against her, even through the thick fabric.

The door was suddenly opened and Winry jumped as Edward's face came into view. Worry crossed his features as he caught Winry's watery gaze and she bit her tongue and had to look down in fear she would start crying again.

"Everything's okay, Brother. Winry's just a little sad. But she'll get better when I come back, free of charge, right? Winry?" Alphonse tightened his grip around her and when she looked at him, she found him to be looking back at her, a comforting smile on his face. It even shone in his eyes and it caused her breath catch in her throat. What had just happened?

"You gonna be okay, Winry?" She looked back up at the older Elric and felt herself smile at the concerned look he gave her, even though her mind was whirring so fast if felt as if it would burn out.

"Of course," she rubbed Alphonse's back and tried not to wince as the unfamiliar cold feeling flooded into her palm. "I shouldn't be worrying so much." She broke her gaze with Edward and stared directly into Alphonse's eyes. "You two always get out of crazy stuff."

But as Alphonse gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread eat away at her stomach.

**_December 14, 1917, 1:00pm – Central Amestris_**

Roy knew what was going on the second loud voices erupted not far down the hall from his office, thanks to a call from a certain Ms. Rockbell.

_"Hey… whattya think you're doing… don't… watch it! …Get your hands off of him, you bastard!"_

Roy sighed and placed his pen down on the desk, standing up. He felt Riza's attentive eyes on him and he faced her as she stood from her own desk.

"Well, Lieutenant, I think it's safe to go count the casualties now," he said in a sarcastic tone and she nodded, meeting him at the door.

Roy stepped into the hallway, where the commotion had calmed down to a thinkable level. On either sides of the corridor, people were sticking their heads out of their offices to investigate the shouting, but Roy ignored them and kept forward, Riza on his left.

Turning around the corner, Roy was unsurprisingly met with a fuming Edward and a silent Alphonse, the _both _of them handcuffed.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Edward snorted, glaring up at the General from his spot on the floor.

"It might help if you walk in here calmly and let your brother be cuffed, FullMetal." Roy replied simply. "And it's good to see you've come out of hiding, Alphonse. We can finally end this case now that you're here." He looked at the five random military personnel that surrounded the two brothers. "Take him to interrogation; I'll be there in a moment. Take the cuffs off of FullMetal and leave him with me."

The younger Elric remained wordless, but Roy could've sworn he the boy shot him a glare as he was pulled to his feet and lead away. Edward was quieter than before as he was helped to his feet after someone had taken the hand cuffs off of him. Roy gave a curt nod and soon the only people who remained in the hallway were him, his Lieutenant and Edward.

"Thank you for doing this without taking down the whole building. But, you shouldn't get your hopes up, Edward." Roy said quietly to his former subordinate as the trio started walking toward the interrogating room, Riza falling back a step. "Alphonse won't be leaving for Ms. Rockbell's very soon."

"I know." Edward sighed, sounding much older and weary in contrast to his feisty, eighteen year old image.

"Getting Al's side of what happened that night will hopefully change the charges." Riza added, in a slightly sympathetic tone.

"But he'll still be charged for evading police and such." Roy muttered, narrowing his visible eye.

Despite what Edward thought, Roy was concerned about the whole mess. Alphonse was a kind hearted soul, even if he had 'changed' after Edward left. Alphonse didn't have the will for such gruesome acts. Roy was certain it was simply that Alphonse had been at the wrong place and the wrong time, even if evidence contradicted that.

-----

Edward stared through the two way mirror, watching as Alphonse sat still as a statue, alone in the other room.

The silence – save for the clock on the wall ticking rhythmically – was unbearable. Edward couldn't remember the last time he had been this nervous. Alphonse was actually being interrogated. About a homicide. A homicide he was said to commit.

It made Edward nauseous.

Alphonse was only _thirteen, _they couldn't put a child away for homicide, could they? Edward didn't know. But what he did know was that they weren't taking his baby brother without a fight. He agreed to the interrogation, but if the judge decided it was death row for Alphonse, Edward knew he wouldn't be able to contain himself.

And just as Edward was about to turn to Mustang and ask when the questioning would begin, Detective Peter Hawthorn stepped into the interrogating room. Edward leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together and placing them under his nose as Mustang shifted in his chair beside him.

"Good day, Mr. Elric." The Detective said in a voice that was just as greasy as his slicked back hair. He set down a pile of folders and a notebook on the table and sat down across from Alphonse, who didn't say a word and just stared solemnly.

"Not very social I see… well, it's nice to see you're alive to answer my questions." Peter said lightly and he tapped his pen on his paper. "First, where were you… on the night of September 17th? To be more specific, around eleven o'clock."

"I was walking around the South End." The words were out of Alphonse's mouth the second Peter Hawthorn closed his.

"I see, at the scene of the crime," Hawthorn hummed, raising his eyebrows, making anger well up in Edward's chest. "But I'd like to know why you were there…"

"I was trying to clear my head and fresh air always seems to do the trick." Alphonse said calmly.

"So you were stressed out… may I ask why?" Hawthorn jotted something down in his book.

"A lot of things, but I think we're straying off topic, sir." Edward couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at Alphonse's subtle mocking.

"Ah yes, I'll get to my next question then, Mr. Elric." Hawthorn nodded to himself and steadied his steely gaze on Alphonse as he pulled out two photos. "There were two other people with you at the time. How do you know them?"

Mug shots – Edward was sure Clara had had her faire share – of said thief and the recent homunculus, Greed was revealed. Edward was curious to hear what Alphonse had to say.

"They're a couple of friends." Alphonse said simply after glancing down at the photos for a moment. "I met Clara here in Central and Greed in East City."

Friends? Edward raised his eyebrows at that comment. Perhaps Greed had been nice to him before, but then things went sour.

"I see," Hawthorn wrote something else down and put the photos away and opened another folder. "Now, did you kill this man?"

Whatever kind of emotionless barrier Alphonse had set up, was chipped as the blood-splattered face of a hairy, homeless man was shown. It was as if someone had flicked a switch, causing Alphonse's dull, hazel eyes to flicker and he shifted in his seat. But that was all of his reaction and he looked away, returning emotionless once more. Even if it was nearly nothing, Edward saw it.

"No." Alphonse said sincerely.

"Well then, if you didn't, who did?"

"I don't know. Clara, Greed and I were walking by the alley when we heard the shot." He replied, crossing his arms. "We went to check it out, but whoever killed him was gone."

"I don't believe you."

Edward jumped from his seat, but couldn't say anything in protest of Hawthorn's remark as a gloved hand was slapped over his mouth.

"Quiet," Mustang hissed in his ear and Edward was shoved back into his chair. "If you interfere it'll ruin everything. And the odds aren't looking very good right about now."

Edward chomped down on his tongue and held his breath to calm himself as he returned his attention to the interrogation. Alphonse looked surprisingly bewildered, but it quickly changed to a challenging glare.

"… Really?" Alphonse asked after a moment of tense silence.

"Your friend Greed tells us that it was you that fired the shot."

Alphonse narrowed his eyes and the room went quiet once more. Edward couldn't help but feel that his brother and the detective were changing silent words.

"_What?_"

"Greed said you killed that man." Hawthorn repeated writing away in his book for a second. "Now, do you wish to reword your answer? If not there's a cell down stairs with your name on it."

Alphonse glared dangerously at the Detective and Edward nearly shuddered. When Alphonse was mad, it meant trouble.

"And what happens if I say that I did kill him?"

"Then you'll be going downstairs." Hawthorn replied icily.

"So no matter what I say, I'm still going to jail anyway?" Alphonse asked, folding his arms.

"Precisely."

"Okay then," Alphonse sighed and held out his wrists. "I'm done talking."

Edward shot up from his chair so fast that is slid out from underneath him.

"_No!_"

He pounded his fist on the glass that separated him from his brother, watching as Alphonse's arms were roughly yanked behind his back.

"They can't do this – he's only a kid! He'll be killed, they can't do this. They can't do this!" Edward shouted desperately and ran to the door as Alphonse was lead out of the room.

Stumbling out into the hall, he saw Alphonse walk out of the next door and he was about to run forward, but a strong hand caught his right arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Let go of me – you can't expect me to watch my own brother be thrown in jail!" Edward snapped, clawing at Mustang's hand.

"He's not going to jail for the murder, you fool." Mustang tightened his grip.

"Let _go!"_ With a frustrated growl, Edward smashed his hands together and a bright light surrounded his automail. Mustang let go of his arm as a blade shot out of Edward's wrist and Edward sprinted towards his brother.

"Get out of my way," Edward snarled, pushing his way through the officers that surrounded Alphonse and Hawthorn.

But when he finally made his way through the crowd, Alphonse was already at the end of the hall, walking at an even pace with Hawthorn and Edward felt himself slow to a stop. Edward watched, frozen, as his little brother grew farther and farther away from him. As Alphonse turned the corner, not even looking Edward's way as he and Hawthorn exchanged words, Edward couldn't help but feel a numb feeling flood from his head to his toes.

'_Al's going to jail…_'

---

Dood. Again, took long. Sorry for the wait, yaddayadda, review, please.

--Renneh


	12. The Jetset Life is Going to Kill You

**Summary:** postseries - slightly AU Alphonse would do anything to get his brother back, and his new friend is willing to help, for a certain price. Now, Edward has returned from Munich, without a clue of how he came back and Alphonse is acting strange, but unknown to Edward, Alphonse is in much more trouble than he can handle.

_**Venom**_

11. The Jetset Life is Going to Kill You

_**December 14, 1917, 1:45pm – Central Amestris  
**__  
_Three months in the hole, doing nothing but sleeping, eating and counting the cracks in the ceiling had made his defences weak. The host was beginning to enter his thoughts, making it hard to think of his more important task; waiting patiently.

When Greed got out of there, he was personally going to rip Envy limb from limb and burn the rest of his body to ashes. Of course, the fact Envy was practically immortal was even better as he could repeat his revenge over and over again.

"I think you'll enjoy your stay here, Alphonse. Unlike most jails, our facilities are very comfortable. You remember your room mate, don't you?" A familiar voice echoed through the dreary halls and Greed's eyes snapped open. He would be getting rid of Envy sooner than he thought.

Greed's scowl stretched into a wide grin and he practically jumped out of bed. Throwing himself at the bars of the cell, he came face to face with a slimy haired, pale, pointy nosed Detective Hawthorn.

"It's about time," Greed sneered, tapping his foot impatiently and the metal bars clanked open.

"How'd you hold out? I didn't take too long did I?" The younger Elric asked a smirk on his face.

"You could've come back three months ago… but at least we're getting out of here Pip–"

"_Al_ is fine." Alphonse cut him off and Greed rolled his eyes as the shorter boy easily slipped the handcuffs off of his tiny wrists. He handed the cuffs to Hawthorn then clapped his hands together and stepped into Greed's old cell. "Now, let me get us out of here…"

Hawthorn stepped back beside Greed as a bright blue flash, a gust of air, harshly blowing dust around as the light crackled away. A grand, decorative archway leading to a dark tunnel was now where the old brick wall once was and Greed exchanged a dry look with Hawthorn.

"And you managed three months with this brat?" Greed raised his eyebrows, but then let out a chuckle. "Or perhaps 'Mother' kept you on a leash."

Hawthorn looked down at him, unfazed by the insults, a smile still on his face. "What can I say, all this annoyance will be worth it in the end, don't you think?"

The two stepped into the tunnel as Alphonse returned the brick wall to its former state behind them. Suddenly Greed felt a rush of adrenaline as the walls around them rippled with alchemic activity and the end of the tunnel opened, blowing snow and bright light into the hole. But it wasn't because he was finally leaving prison.

"The three of you! Hands in the air!" A loud voice bellowed. "You're under arrest."

"It seems I may have made a slight mistake…" Alphonse hummed from behind. "Oh well."

"This should be fun!" Greed howled in laughter, spreading his fingers as his shield melted over his 

hands. Normally, Greed would've been furious, but being able to stretch his limbs in a fight sounded good. But his excitement soon turned to annoyance when Hawthorn stepped in front of him.

"Greed, go get the new host." Hawthorn said calmly, running a hand through his greasy back hair as Alphonse stepped up beside him. "We'll meet you at Mother's."

_**Date, Time, Place Unknown**_

He swung his legs unconsciously as he sat on the high brick ledge, watching the word around him. Although Alphonse could only feel very little, he could tell it was a warm summer day. The sky was the deepest shade of blue and he could almost feel the light breeze that ruffled the leaves on the trees, made waves in the grass.

People walk by in front of him, some of them partnered up, some of them in large groups, some of them alone, but the street was filled with activity and sounds. In this place, this street was his favourite spot. It was like a blur of different coloured skin tones, ethnicities, ages, genders; it didn't matter. Here, everyone got along. Here, it was always perfect.

But suddenly, a high pitched cry cut through the serenity.

"_Biggur Bruver!"_

Alphonse jolted and immediately pushed himself off the ledge. Seized in terror, he looked around, suddenly overwhelmed by the people hurrying by him. But then, a small figure pushed herself through the crowd.

A surge of relief melted through him and Alphonse bent down on one knee as the girl spotted him, her auburn braids flying behind her as she threw herself into his waiting arms.

"Biggur bruver, I knew I seened you!" She giggled; jumping back to her feet as he gently let her go.

"Are you okay? Where's your mom?" Alphonse demanded, holding her at arms length as she stared back at him with big blue eyes.

"I dunno… around!" She replied cutely.

Alphonse sighed. "Nina, did you wander away again?"

"No, I made a new friend," Nina replied matter-of-factly. But then her confidence faltered and she frowned as she looked behind her. "She was just behind me…"

Alphonse held back the urge to roll his eyes. Nina had a tendency to wander away from her mother and start talking to other people. In fact, that was how Nina met him, a week or so after he arrived in this peaceful place.

But for some reason he felt guilty when she had grabbed his hand and started calling him 'Little Bigger Brother'. When he told her that he wasn't 'Little Bigger Brother', but Alphonse Elric, she seemed recognised the name immediately, even though he was sure he hadn't met this girl in his life.

"Oh! Wait! There she is!" Nina's voice brought him back and he looked up, wondering who she met this time.

But he wasn't prepared for who he saw.

"Alphonse?"

_**December 14, 1917, 1:50pm – Central Amestris**_

Winry stared at the metal leg on her kitchen table, the tools limp in her hands as she floated in her thoughts.

_"You do know that Alphonse won't be returning to your apartment with Edward, Winry?" _ General Mustang's voice echoed in her head from the phone call she had made earlier.

With a sigh, Winry drooped forward, resting her head in her arms, closing her eyes. Everything was so stressful. She wished she could just go back in time and stop Alphonse from ever leaving to train with Izumi in the first place.

_"I'll train harder too," _Another memory drifted in her head, and she was now standing at the train station in Resembool.

Young Alphonse's face lit up with determination.

_"We can be a team!" _Alphonse said and then his eleven year old face blurred away and everything was black once more.

Sombre, Winry opened her eyes and watched the steam drift into the air from her coffee mug. Alphonse. Little, innocent Alphonse was… a homunculus. And she knew. And Edward didn't.

With a half whimper, half sigh, Winry bit down on her lip, tapping her fingers on the counter as she tried to figure out her options. But she didn't even get to think any further as the window on the other side of her apartment suddenly slid open.

Winry jolted upright, staring in fear as someone started to climb into her apartment, pale hands clawing at the window ledge. Quickly, she grabbed the wrench that was sitting on her counter and held it tightly in her hands as she got up from her chair. Hurriedly, yet as quietly as she could, Winry tip toed over to the window, making sure that she was out of the intruder's view as she went, her back against the wall.

Now she was right in front of the window and the intruder was nearly all the way inside, all that was left was his shoulders and head. She felt her heart pounding as she lifted the wrench above her head, ready to strike.

And as a head of black hair came into view, she let out a cry and swung the wrench down as hard as she could, a crack ringing in the empty apartment as she made contact.

She backed away, breathing heavily as the intruder collapsed to the floor, motionless. Still holding the wrench tightly, she bent down and crept towards the intruder, a feeling of dread rising in her chest as a small puddle of blood swelled around his head. He couldn't have been any older than her, or at least, that was what she judged from his size. With a shaking hand, she found her way through his thick, tied up black hair and pressed two fingers to his neck, feeling for a pulse. She didn't kill him, did she?

But before she could feel anything, the intruder gave a low groan and twitched. She gasped and stood up, ready to smash his head again if he attacked.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She demanded, watching as the intruder pushed himself to his knees.

"You hit pretty hard for a girl," the intruder grinned at her and at the same time, there was a hissing sound and the wound on top of his head started sewing itself together. She felt her blood run cold and she froze.

"You're a homunculus!" She breathed, backing away from him.

Then, two things happened at once.

Her door was kicked open with a loud crack and her back smashed the wall as the homunculus jumped at her. Winry looked up to see the Xingese homunculus face inches from her own. She then felt something cold and hard wrap around her arm and she looked down to see the monstrous, clawed black hand of the homunculus gripping her arm.

"Let her go," a familiar voice said and Winry looked up to see Ran Fan standing in the doorway.

"Ran Fan!" Winry cried in relief, but she knew there was nothing that the other mechanic could do.

"No, I won't let her go," the homunculus sneered, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his cold body, while something cool and sharp was pressed into her neck. She bit down hard on her lip as her body trembled with fear. "This little wench coming with me."

_'Edward, where are you?' _

"Not without a fight she isn't," Ran Fan growled, stepping forward.

"Sorry, you little slave," Winry could hear the homunculus grin and she whimpered at the malice in his voice. "We don't have time for this."

The next thing Winry knew, something hard hit her between the shoulder blades and her apartment swayed. Ran Fan's shocked face, filled with horror and anger blurred and Winry mouthed her name, but no sound was made. And then she was pitching forward, unable to put her arms out to stop her fall, but before she hit the floor, she blacked out.

Again, sorry for the long wait! I don't really have a good excuse except for school work, which is really bad, but anyway.

Hope you liked this chapter! It's really going to start to get exciting soon, I can't wait to start writing the next chapter. I MEAN. I totally started writing the next chapter, cough cough.

Please review, any questions or criticisms are adored.

--Renneh

PS: TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE, HAPPY EASTER. I hope I won't be the only one who will feel guilty after eating chocolate. :D


	13. authors note TAKEN OVER

**hey readers, reviewers, fav-ers, alert-ers...  
or someone who's just dropping by.**

**i'm done with writing fics...**  
just isn't my thing anymore,  
i gotta live life and get away from the _anime_ and _manga_,  
away from _4 hours_ of the computer basically.  
i've had a good run,  
never finished a fic,  
but whatever.  
lots of love to those who've read my fics, :)  
and sorry i never updated often.

The world is moving and i don't know about you guys,_  
but I'm not getting left behind.  
_  
**--Renneh**

**EDIT  
IT'S NOT ALL LOST GUYS!  
Demonalchemist5 is going to take on this fic and keep going with it!  
I'll put a link on this page when it's up. :)**

**EDIT AGAIN:  
Here's the link, just take the spaces out.  
Be sure to review! :)  
www . fanfiction . net / s / 4382405 / 1 / Venom **


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